


melatonin

by dingodillz



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Backbending, Insomnia, M/M, Multi, Mutual Pining, Not Beta Read, Sleepwalking, just simps everywhere really, mutual simping, simping, they dont go to a bar this was a bad joke
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-15 08:47:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28685835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dingodillz/pseuds/dingodillz
Summary: finish the joke: an insomniac & a sleepwalker go to the bar...roommates AU where Zuko can’t sleep and Sokka can’t sleep still
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 71
Kudos: 219





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> not beta read.

Transferring to Ba Sing Se State was undoubtedly one of the best things to happen to Zuko. 

For one, his new dorm was only fifteen minutes from Uncle’s tea shop.

At his first university, Caldera U, Zuko found reprieve in living away from his family. Not being under the oppressive eye of his Father and his family’s constant criticisms for the first time had Zuko acting reckless. The freedom, parties and _boys_ he had newly at his disposal was exhilarating. 

He got a little _too_ comfortable because all it took was one illicit snapchat video of him and another man getting in the wrong hands before his Father was pulling him out of school and sending him out of the house with a fresh burn wound on the side of his face. 

Uncle Iroh had found him, bandaged with a duffle bag outside the tea shop and immediately took him in. Zuko was set up on the couch of Uncle’s tiny one-bed apartment above the store and quickly found himself living a life he never expected. 

At first, Zuko was unbelievably resentful — both at his father for kicking him out, but also _himself_ . If he could have just stayed in that night, or if he didn’t take so many shots, or _if he didn’t like men_ , he would still have the future that was planned for him. Now, he didn’t have a future at all. 

These thoughts kept him up late many nights. He’d spend hours laying on the couch, surrounded by his Uncle’s impressive and varied jade figurine collection, staring at nothing and thinking of everything. He began regularly running on 1-2 hours of sleep a night, fueled only by Uncle’s black tea and pure spite. 

It wasn’t long before Uncle began to notice.

————

_“Nephew,” Uncle said, after finding Zuko once again fighting a headache in the tea storage room. “You haven’t been sleeping.”_

_“I’m sleeping just fine, Uncle,” Zuko sighed, drawing his fingers to rub at the bridge of his nose. “I just feel tired today, is all.”_

_Uncle turned from Zuko and removed his apron. “You know, Zuko,” he began while folding his apron and setting aside on one of the shelves. “You can only begin to solve a problem once you admit there is one.”_

_“There is no problem,” Zuko replied testily. “I’m perfectly fine. I just feel a little tired.”_

_Uncle exhaled and turned to face him. “You do not need to keep secrets from me, Nephew.”_

_“How could I? I have no secrets!” Zuko shouted, throwing his hands in the air. “Look at me. I’ve already been outed - there’s nothing left for me to hide!”_

_Uncle jumped, startled at Zuko’s sudden outburst. “Zuko, I understand-“_

_“What do you understand?” Zuko shouted, disbelieving. "I’ve had my whole future ripped from me. I’m just a drop-out sleeping on his Uncle’s couch."_

_“That is not true. You still have a future, Zuko,” Uncle begged. He grabbed Zuko’s hands and pulled them in, forcing Zuko to look him in the face. “If you’re upset about not finishing classes, you could always go back to school.”_

_Zuko huffed and looked away. “How would I even begin?”_

_“Nephew,” Uncle smiled, “You need only ask.”_

————

And so Uncle helped Zuko find and fill out his application to Ba Sing Se State. 

Transferring was unfathomably easy - most of his credits from his first year were gen-eds so they transferred easily. Zuko also now had the freedom to choose whatever course of study _he,_ not his Father, wanted. To sweeten the deal, the performing arts program was reportedly on-par, if not better, than the one at Caldera U. It was also remarkably affordable, since Zuko now qualified for in-state tuition via Uncle’s residency. 

Zuko felt no small shame for the anguish he put himself and Uncle through those first few months at the tea shop. Uncle Iroh, the endlessly supportive man that he is, brushed off Zuko’s apologies with a simple “you are always forgiven, dear Nephew.”

Zuko picked his dorm on the south-side of campus, primarily because he could easily catch the bus back to Uncle’s to help with the shop. It was an apartment style dorm - one with a shared kitchen and single/shared bedrooms attached. Zuko selected a single room for himself — after sleeping in the living room for so long that he jumped at the opportunity to have his own space. 

This brings us to reason number two of why transferring to Ba Sing Se State was one of the best things to happen to Zuko: his suitemates. 

Zuko had been riddled with anxiety upon realizing despite having his own room, he’d still have to share the common space with strangers. His freshman year at Cal U, Zuko lived in a true dorm-style building — his only shared space was the communal bathroom at the end of the floor. He’d never been what one would call a social butterfly either — he had only really been able to talk to other students his age under the influence of alcohol at parties. Those conversations had never resulted in lasting friendships (or relationships past a hook-up for that matter). 

Naturally, move-in day had Zuko shitting a brick. He barely slept and arrived at the dorm disgustingly earlier than the allotted move-in time out of pure stress and panic. 

————

_“Hey man,” a sleepy-looking RA yawned, squinting at Zuko and his luggage. “You know you don’t have to be here for at least another hour.”_

_“I am aware.” Zuko grunted tersely, shifting his duffle from where it rested uncomfortably on his shoulder._

_The RA, Jee from his name-tag, stared at Zuko for a moment, eyes lingering on his scar. “Well,” he considered. "Might as well let you in. What room number?”_

_“205,” Zuko replied._

_“All right, just sign-in right here,” said Jee holding out a clipboard, “go grab your ID from the front desk inside, and then you’re all set.”_

_Zuko huffed out a thanks and scrambled inside to his new dorm, quickly making his way to the front desk and up the staircase to his floor._

_Opening the door, he got his first glance at his new home. The suite was nicely sized with a kitchen, bathroom, and small living area- all already furnished with the standard shitty dorm furniture._

_Zuko quickly found his bedroom, located on the opposite side of the living area across from what would be his roommate’s shared bedroom. Too stressed to stay idle, he made quick work of unpacking his things and setting up his bed. Before he knew it everything was unpacked and he let out a deep exhale. All that was left was to meet his roommates._

_Zuko glanced at his phone - he still had half-hour until move-in actually began. Groaning, he laid on his bed and tried to get a bit of shut-eye while he waited._

_BANG! The suite’s door flew open and Zuko startled so violently he fell off the bed._

_“Oh wow! It already has a TV!” a bright voice called out. “Sokka, we could hook up the Wii!”_

_Zuko heard footsteps - light, but rapid, fluttering across the common space. Now’s the time. He thought to himself as he stood, righting his clothing and moving to the door. Get in there and introduce yourself._

_“Oh look! The kitchen came with plates? There’s so much stuff already here,” the voice called again._

_As Zuko’s hand inched toward the door knob, he heard a new deeper voice call out, “Aang, I think that’s our new roommate’s stuff. It doesn’t look dorm-y. Looks like it’s from someone’s house."_

_“What? But we got here so early!” the lighter voice, Aang presumably, called. "Move-in only literally started a few minutes ago!"_

_Zuko took this as his cue and opened the door and was greeted by the sight of both a bald and lanky teen with very interesting arrow tattoos across his body sitting on the kitchen counter, and a taller, very attractive, muscular guy poking about the kitchen._

_“Hey,” he called out awkwardly from the door, brain slowly turning off as both sets of eyes made their way towards him. “Zuko, new roommate, here.”_

_Inwardly, Zuko cringed with mortification. Agni, you can’t even form normal sentences around people, can you Zuko? He thought to himself._

_"Nice to meet you Zuko! I’m Aang and this is Sokka,” the bald headed teen chimed, pointing to himself and then the other._

_Aang’s eyes hadn’t lingered on his scar, passing easily over Zuko’s silhouette evenly. Sokka, on the other hand, seemed taken aback at his presence, mouth gaping slightly._

_“Uh, Right! Right, yes. I’m Sokka,” the taller stammered. “Second year engineering student, roommate of Aang here.”_

_“Oh right!” Aang slapped his forehead and hopped down from the counter. “I’m a second-year too, environmental studies major. What do you study, Zuko?”_

_“I’m a transfer student. Going to be in the performing arts program, specializing in dance,” Zuko replied, grateful for Aang’s ability to carry a conversation._

_“That makes sense,” Sokka called out unthinkingly, before realizing what he said. “Uh- because you look like a dancer? Not that you look a certain way but you know you have like… dancer vibes.”_

_“Thanks, I guess?” responded Zuko, unsure of how to continue the conversation._

_“Well, I think that’s cool!” Aang chimed. “We probably won’t share too many classes though, sadly. So we’ll have to catch up outside of class!”_

_Aang beamed at him from the kitchen. Zuko was startled that Aang was already and so easily offering, what he hoped, was friendship._

_“Yeah. I’d like that,” Zuko smiled, feeling the anxiety finally drift off his shoulders._

_“Soookka! You better come grab the rest of your things from the car before I leave them on the curb!” A feminine voice shouted out from the hallway. Sokka made a face but moved to open the suite’s front door._

_A young girl carrying what looked like two very heavy boxes quickly made her way through. Dropping them to the floor, she let out a groan and wiped her forehead._

_“Oh, hello,” She greeted Zuko, after spotting him from across the room. “You must be the unfortunate guy who got stuck living with my brother. I’m Katara.”_

_Zuko could see the resemblance between the two siblings. Both Katara and Sokka had the same glowing tan skin, big blue eyes and bright smile. Zuko felt a pang of jealousy looking at the two siblings as he was reminded of his estranged relationship with his own sister._

_“Hey,” Zuko replied, waving with one hand from his spot by his bedroom door. “I’m Zuko. Nice to meet you.”_

_“Wow, very polite,” Katara remarked, laughing warmly. “I can only hope my new roommate is as half as nice as you.”_

_“Katara’s a first year here, too!” Aang called out._

_“Yeah, we’re just dropping off Aang and me’s stuff off first,” Sokka said, "Then we’re going to move ‘Tara here into her very first college dorm!” Sokka trailing off into a baby voice toward the end and grabbed Katara, squeezing her tight._

_“Ew, Sokka get off!” Katara cried, “Stop babying me, Aang and I are literally the same age!”_

_Zuko noted this with interest. “You’re the same age as Katara?” He asked, turning to Aang._

_Aang rubbed the back of his neck and smiled bashfully. “Hah, yeah. I was homeschooled growing up and so I’m a grade ahead of most kids my age.”_

_“Aang here is wise beyond his years,” Sokka joked sagely from the door. He turned to Aang and gestured to himself and Katara. “I’ll go grab the last few boxes and then we’ll go with Dad to Katara’s.”_

_Zuko made an aborted movement towards Sokka. “Do you need any help?” Zuko asked._

_“No! No, you’re good. Katara can help me,” Sokka smiled, grabbing Katara by the arm and pulling her away from the dorm._

_“Sokka, wait,” Katara’s voice called, growing increasingly quieter, “My arm hurts!”_

_Zuko made eye contact with Aang, feeling awkward at being left alone with someone who he just met._

_“So, Zuko!” Aang chirped, making his way into the living area and sitting on the couch. “What’s your plans for today?”_

_Zuko followed Aang’s lead and sat stiffly in the arm chair to the left of Aang. “I mostly just planned on unpacking. But uh, I’ve mostly finished.” Zuko answered, embarrassed._

_“That’s great!” called Aang. “That means you’re free to come with us to lunch! Sokka’s family is really great and there’s this super great water tribe place we go to everytime they visit. Oh, you’ll love it.”_

_“Oh,” Zuko said surprised. “Are you sure they’d be alright with me joining?"_

_“What? Of course they’d be alright with it!” Aang responded head tilted, almost baffled by Zuko’s question. “You’re our new roommate! You’re basically family.”_

_Zuko smiled to himself, feeling oddly affectionate for his new bald headed roommate and his effervescent friendliness._

_“Oh! Right, I was talking about the restaurant. It’s so good Zuko, they have the best seaweed stew. As a vegetarian, it is so hard to find a water tribe place that has veggie options but this place …"_

_————_

So Zuko became fast friends with his roommates. Aang was relentless in including Zuko in nearly every activity and social gathering that he and Sokka were a part of. His seemingly endless bundle of friendly energy could be a bit much for Zuko’s introverted tendencies to handle at times, but Zuko appreciated his efforts.

And Sokka was, well Sokka. Endlessly funny, charming and _so goddamn attractive_. Zuko could hardly keep his head on straight around him. When talking to Aang gave Zuko the feeling that maybe he wasn’t a complete social disaster, talking to Sokka swiftly reminded Zuko how hopeless he really was. 

In group settings, Zuko could partake in a normal conversation with Sokka without being completely embarrassing. He could make fully formed sentences and sometimes even joke when Aang and Katara were around. But when it’s just the two of them, Zuko would find himself tongue-tied and desperate to make a quick exit. 

They were already nearing the mid-semester break and Zuko could count on one hand the number of one-on-one conversations he had with Sokka. When he had trouble falling asleep, he’d recount the uncomfortable conversations in his head and nearly die of mortification.

_————_

_“Hey Zuko! Could I borrow some of that, what do you call it? The stuff that helps you sleep soundly?" Sokka called to Zuko, as he walked out of the bathroom drying his hair with nothing but towel slung low on his hips and chest on full display._

_Zuko stared at his chest dreamily from the couch before replying. “Melanin?”_

_Sokka chortled before Zuko realized his mistake. “I think I have more of that than you, Zuko.”_

_Panicked, Zuko ripped his eyes from Sokka and huffed out a laugh. “Right, yeah! Melatonin. I’ll grab you some.”_

_————_

It honestly was a miracle Sokka still hung around him, in Zuko’s opinion. Honestly, Sokka was almost around _too much_. He was quick to sit down right next to Zuko on the couch or stick an arm around him when they were walking to and from class, blissfully unaware of the agony he was putting Zuko’s heart through. 

Sometimes, when Zuko couldn’t sleep he’d come out to the common room and find Sokka hammering away on his computer at some assignment. 

_“Can’t work in the room. Don't wanna wake Aang.”_ Sokka had whispered the first night Zuko found him out there. 

It became a pattern - Sokka working late and Zuko joining him. Zuko found it oddly soothing to watch Sokka laser focused on his laptop, typing away and occasionally making small frustrated noises. 

It quickly became Zuko’s favorite time of day. He could enjoy Sokka’s presence without making an absolute fool out of himself by attempting a conversation.

So, yeah. Ba Sing Se State was one of the best things to happen to Zuko. Easily. 

————

The week before mid-semester break, Aang rushed into the suite with a grin on his face. Zuko was seated at the kitchen counter finishing an assignment for one of his classes. 

“Zuko!” Aang cried. “Uncle Gyasto just called — I’m visiting him during the break!”

“That’s great, Aang,” Zuko replied. “I’m glad you’re able to spend time with family.”

“Oh, it’s going to be so great. I haven’t seen him in _years._ We’re going to the mountains and meditate for a whole week. Gyatso is banning all technology, it will be a _complete detox_.” Aang raved, fluttering about the room before stopping abruptly. “Oh! Zuko, are you going to stay with your Uncle?”

Zuko gave a quick smile. “No, Uncle will be away at a Tea convention this next week. I’ll be staying in the dorm.” 

Zuko wasn’t too upset about missing his Uncle during the break. They had a long-standing brunch tradition on Sundays ever since Zuko moved out of the apartment. 

“Sokka will be here too,” Aang remarked. “He had some visa issues and can’t leave the Earth Kingdom. I’m glad you two will have each other to keep company!”

Zuko’s brain short-circuited. Sokka and him. Alone. For a _week?_


	2. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don’t actually know if perscription-grade melatonin is a thing. i’m also too lazy to do any sort of research. let’s just pretend it is for the sake of the plot, ok?

Luckily, Zuko didn’t have enough free time before break to worry about how he was going to survive a week without Aang to prevent him from making a bigger fool out of himself in front of Sokka. It was as if every professor he had scrambled to throw in a paper or test just before break began. Even his contemporary composition class managed to throw in a performance due that same week. Between the library and practice hall, Zuko barely spent any time in the dorm. 

When he did make it back to the dorm, he found himself unable to sleep. The stress of perfecting his choreography kept awake, running his moves over and over again in his mind until he would be startled by his alarm, reminding him to get ready for his 8 am class. 

His roommates seemed to be suffering just as much as he was. One night, Zuko came home late from the practice hall, bone-tired from rehearsing for his performance in the morning, and spotted Aang and Sokka, hunched over their laptops and speaking to each other in harsh whispered tones, in the living room. 

“Hey guys,” Zuko greeted, dropping his bag to the floor and toe-ing off his shoes. “You’re still at it?”

Aang looked up from his spot on the couch and gave a weak smile. “Hi, Zuko. Yeah, we’re just working on our group project." 

“Ah, group projects are the worst.” Zuko nodded, making his way into the kitchen and grabbing a glass of water. 

“We could have been _done_ already if Aang over here didn’t spend an hour writing about the cultural impacts in our report instead of the actual physical impacts of the build.” Sokka hissed, fingers typing rapidly and eyes never leaving his laptop screen. 

Zuko took a glance to Sokka from his place at the sink, pausing as he filled his glass. He couldn’t help but notice that even at his most stressed, hair falling out from his pony-tail and glasses askew, Sokka made it a _look_. It was honestly unfair, stress had Zuko smelling like dirty laundry and sweat while Sokka just looked hot. He never really got to see Sokka wearing his glasses around the apartment — he only seemed to wear them late at night when he was tired yet still working. 

“Sokka, I told you — we can’t just leave out the effects it’ll have on the community! Besides, we’re almost finished anyways.” Aang chided, uncharacteristically stern. “We only have the conclusion left and then we’ll be ready to hand it in tomorrow. By the afternoon, we’ll be done with classes and I’ll be halfway to the mountains with Uncle Gyatso!” Aang clapped his hands together, brightening dramatically at the prospect of being in nature with his guardian.

“Yeah, yeah,” Sokka huffed, finally taking a pause from his violent typing. He leaned back and ran his fingers through his hair, releasing it from its tie and leaving it to fall delicately around his face. He squinted suddenly at his screen. “You’d think Hahn could at least pretend to be active on this google doc right now. We’ve done ninety-five percent of the project already.”

Zuko huffed out a laugh and moved to join the two in the living room, sitting on the arm-chair next to the couch. “That’s rough.”

Aang took a surprised look at Zuko. “Not going to bed, Zuko?” He asked, putting his chin into his hand. “Don’t you have your performance in the morning?”

Zuko shook his head. “Can’t sleep.”

“That happens to you a lot, huh,” Aang mused, looking away thoughtfully. “Do you have like, stuff, you can take?”

“Yeah,” Zuko hummed. “Uncle sent me prescription-grade melatonin that I think he hustled one of his pai-sho buddies for. Helps me stay asleep, but..."

“You can’t fall asleep,” Aang finished for him, nodding. He brightened suddenly and turned to Sokka, slapping him on the arm. “You should get some of that! Maybe you’ll stop talking in your sleep!”

Sokka jumped, nearly dropping his computer. “What! I don’t talk in my sleep!” He yelped, reddening slightly in the face. “I sleep like a normal person!”

“Besides,” he says, straightening out his laptop. “I’ve tried Zuko’s magic sleepy pills and they didn’t do anything for me.”

Aang made a face. “You totally talk in your sleep, Sokka. Matter of fact, just last night you woke me up talking about ballet dancers and their bendy…”

“That’s enough of that!” Sokka shouted, throwing a hand over Aang’s mouth. “Zuko over here definitely does not want to hear whatever I _allegedly_ said in my sleep last night.”

Zuko, in fact, definitely did want to hear what Sokka said in his sleep last night. He made the decision to not voice that thought aloud, so that he didn’t come across as entirely creepy. 

“You’ve literally talked in your sleep almost every night since the start of the semester, Sokka,” Aang retorted, squirming out of Sokka’s grip and pointing a defiant finger in his face. “The only time you didn’t was the weekend of Katara’s birthday.”

Zuko frowned, thinking. “I think that’s when you tried my melatonin, Sokka.”

“Oh, shit.” Sokka blinked, settling back into the couch. “You’re totally right. Guess the magic sleepy pills _did_ work after all.” 

“Told ya,” smirked Aang, pulling his computer back into his lap and resuming typing. 

Zuko yawned, finally feeling the effects of his fatigue. He took a quick glance at the time on Aang’s computer and paused noting it was almost four in the morning. “Well, Sokka,” Zuko began, stretching his arms above his head and causing his shirt to lift, exposing his stomach. “If you ever need any magic sleepy pills, I’d be happy to lend you mine.”

Sokka must have dozed off, because he jumped suddenly, as if just realizing Zuko had been speaking to him. “Uh yeah! Yeah, that would be, uh, great.” He stammered, glancing back and forth from his laptop screen to Zuko. “Not tonight! But, maybe tomorrow?”

Zuko smiled and nodded, standing up and moving away from the armchair. “Sure. Goodnight, guys.” He said as he opened the door to his bedroom. 

“Night, Zuko!” Aang called cheerily as Zuko shut his door. Zuko chucked to himself, only Aang could be that upbeat when being kept up by work to early hours of the morning. 

Zuko quickly undressed, hoping that he wouldn’t lose the feeling of sleepiness before he was able to actually get in bed. He made his way under the covers and breathed deeply to clear his mind. If he listened carefully, he could hear the hushed tones of Sokka and Aang from outside his room and the clacking of their keyboards.

“Really? You had to bring up the bendy ballet dancers, Aang?” Zuko heard Sokka whisper heatedly before he quickly lost consciousness, finally reaching that mind-numbing blankness that only sleep can provide.


	3. 3

_RING! RING! RING!_

Zuko jolted from his bed and grabbed his phone to shut off the alarm. Rubbing his eyes, he checked the time and calculated that he had maybe fifteen minutes before he really needed to get moving. More than enough time to grab his phone and scroll through his socials. 

Opening instagram, he thumbed through some of his friends stories, pausing to send a heart eyes emoji to Katara’s boomerang of her sushi dinner and a laughing emoji to Aang’s post of him and Sokka falling asleep on top of their computers from last night. He stopped upon noticing a recent post from his sister, Azula, who almost never used social media. She had always called it a moronic waste of energy and that she had much better ways of spending her time. 

It was a photo of her and her two closest friends, Mai and Ty Lee, standing outside what looked like his old university’s admission building with the caption, _“meet cal u’s newest student council.”_ Azula was pointing to a pin on her label that marked her clearly as president. 

_How fitting. Zuko_ thought as an uncomfortable feeling spread across his chest. Both he and his sister had been legacy students at Caldera University. It was where their parents had met and where their father, too, served as student body president. Azula was only in her first year, too. For anyone other than her, it would have been impossible to even be nominated. 

Zuko had a sudden feeling of inadequacy, one he hadn’t felt since being forced from his Father’s home. He had barely managed to scrape together time to go to class during his first year at school let alone organize a campaign. He exited the app, threw off his covers, and decided it was time to get ready for the day. There was no use in comparing himself to Azula, he’d always lose. 

He quickly found his dance uniform and tugged on his tights, trying to channel Uncle who always knew how to make him feel better when he got like this. _You and your sister are on different paths, my dear Nephew._ Zuko hummed to himself in a bad imitation of his Uncle. _There is no wrong path in the walks of life._

Once fully dressed, Zuko made his way out of his bedroom and was met with Aang, strapped up with a hiking backpack the size of his body standing near the front door. 

“Hey, Zuko!” Aang called. “Uncle Gyatso’s coming any minute to pick me up. I probably won’t see you after your performance, but congratulations in advance!” He smiled as he adjusted the straps of his bag.

“Thanks, Aang.” Zuko hummed, still too early in the day for him to match Aang’s energy _(not that he ever could even fully awake)_. “I take it that you and Sokka finished your assignment?”

“Oh yeah,” Aang replied easily. “We were up all night finishing that thing, but we finished. Sokka’s probably going to sleep the entire day away.”

Aang’s phone buzzed and he jerked excitedly. “Gotta run Zuko! Gyatso’s here!” He exclaimed, moving to open the door. “See you next week - I’ll miss you!” Aang flew down the hall, seemingly unburdened by his comically large backpack, leaving a stunned Zuko behind. 

Zuko felt a smile form on his face. Besides his Uncle, Zuko could not remember the last person who said that they’d miss him before going away. With a start, he realized he’d to miss Aang’s lighthearted presence in the apartment - and not just because he needed someone to keep him from acting like a complete social disaster around Sokka. He’d miss Aang’s little quirks — the endless energy and vibrant enthusiasm he brought everywhere he went. 

Pulling himself from his thoughts, Zuko quickly prepared his bag, slipped on his shoes and left the dorm. He ran through the choreography for his performance over again in his mind, visualizing the moves and counting the beats. If anything, Zuko was over prepared for this performance. As soon he saw the dance composition project on the syllabus, he knew exactly what he wanted to do for his performance.

The class itself focused on dance traditions among the four kingdoms and the project was to choreograph a legend from one of the kingdoms. Before his mother left, she had taken him often to see “Love Amongst the Dragons”, her favorite Fire Nation tale, at the local theater. For this project, he’d chosen to choreograph the conflict - when the Dragon Emperor became bound to mortality by the Dark Water spirit. Instead of portraying the Emperor, Zuko had decided to instead take on the role of the water spirit. 

Zuko spent hours analyzing the play’s texts over the past semester, perfecting his choreography to capture the feel of the play exactly. He’d even found an exact replica of the water spirit’s mask on e-bay and spent an embarrassingly large portion of his paycheck to make sure no one could out bid him.

 _It was definitely worth it._ Zuko thought, as he pulled it from his bag and marveled at its quality. He’d finally arrived at the auditorium and surveyed the backstage. There were only two other students performing today — the performances had been staggered throughout the semester to give the TAs an easier time of grading. Looking up from his position behind the curtain, he spotted the two of them, unsmiling and in identical black turtlenecks, in the front row. 

“Sozin, Zuko,” one of the TAs called with an air of arrogant boredom. “You’re up first.”

Breathing deeply, Zuko slipped on his mask and made his way to center stage. He heard the first few beats of the music and began to move. He had designed the dance to be a fight, with violent movements and quick steps. 

As the music reached a crescendo, he flung himself through the air, completing a complicated acrobatic move that had taken him ages to master. As the music neared its end, Zuko slammed his fist to the ground and stood proud. The Dark Water spirit had won the fight. 

Zuko bowed and removed his mask, looking upon the shell-shocked faces of his TAs. They quickly shook themselves out of it and began clapping enthusiastically. “Outstanding!” The one to the left called. “Just amazing. You were the — what was it again? Blue spirit?”

“He was definitely the Blue spirit!” The other chimed. “Fantastic work, Zuko.”

Zuko felt the tension from his shoulders release. “Thank you,” he bowed again and moved off stage. Smiling to himself, he went to grab his bag. 

“How the hell am I supposed to go after you?” A nervous looking female student hissed to him. “I’m only taking this class as an elective!”

Zuko looked up with shock. “I’m sure you’ll be fine,” He responded, aiming to be reassuring. 

“Jiang,” A TAs voice called from beyond the stage. “You’re up!”

The student, Jiang, went white and nervously made her way on stage, anxiety leaking from her every step. Zuko cringed and quickly made his way out of the auditorium, not wanting to see the poor girl have a nervous breakdown on stage. 

On his way back to the dorm, Zuko couldn’t help himself from forming a smile. His hard work had _finally_ paid off. He felt a sudden and overwhelming sense of gratitude to Uncle for helping him go back to school. Uncle had been endlessly supportive of Zuko following his passion, where his father had been dismissive of his choice to enroll in a performing arts program instead of business. 

He flashed his id as he passed the front desk and quickly scaled the staircase leading to his dorm. Humming the music to his routine softly under his breath, Zuko opened the door carefully, setting down his bag and toeing off his shoes. Nothing could break down his good mood — not his lingering sense of self-doubt, or another instagram post from his sister, or _Sokka butt-naked standing in the kitchen?_

Zuko rubbed his eyes in shock, not trusting himself to be awake. To be fair, he’d had several dreams in the past where he was pretty much in the same situation — maybe with less space between him and Sokka, but same theme overall. Unable to help himself, he dragged his eyes over the long expanse of Sokka’s body. He looked up from his muscular thighs, over his endlessly broad shoulders, and stopped with surprise on Sokka’s face. 

Sokka’s eyes were closed and his mouth slack, almost as if he was sleeping. _But that’s not possible._ Zuko thought, panicked from his position by the door. _He’s standing, ass out, in the kitchen!_

Suddenly, Zuko’s phone began to ring loudly from inside his bag. “Shit,” Zuko hissed crouching down and digging through his bag to grab it. 

Sokka jolted with surprise, eyes blinking open. “What the hell,” Sokka gasped, seemingly not noticing Zuko’s presence. “Did I sleepwalk _again?_ ”

Shutting off the alarm, Zuko popped up from his position on the ground. Sokka let out a very high-pitched yell and grabbed his chest. “Zuko! How long have you been there?”

“I, uh, just,” Zuko spluttered, making aborted hand movements. He was apparently unable to put human words together when in the presence of Sokka’s dick. 

“Why do you keep looking down?” Sokka asked, still blissfully unaware of the situation. "Is there something on my —- oh fuck.” Sokka had glanced down and finally realized his predicament. Turning red, he quickly covered himself and started to shuffle sideways back towards his bedroom door. 

“Well this has been sufficiently humiliating,” Sokka said as he opened his door, stepping behind it. “Goodbye Zuko, let’s pretend this never happened.” 

Zuko remained frozen, phone in hand, by his discarded bag. Staring at the missed call notification on his screen, he realized with astonishing clarity that he would be fully incapable of pretending it never happened.


	4. 4

Zuko was no stranger to repressing his emotions. Growing up in the house that he did with the Father that he had, he had years of experience controlling his feelings. In normal circumstances, Zuko would be more than capable of warding off his unwanted sexual feelings. 

However, these were certainly not normal circumstances. For a week, Zuko would be alone with a man so hot that Zuko sometimes thought the horny part of his brain was simply hallucinating him. A man that he already had trouble forming full sentences around. This same man apparently now _sleepwalks naked?_ Agni truly must be testing him. 

In a daze, Zuko made his way into the kitchen, shock slowly leaving his system. Feeling somewhat at a loss, he decided to make himself breakfast to take his mind off the hectic morning. 

He grabbed some eggs from the fridge and set about making himself an omelette. As he continued with his cooking, he felt farther and farther away from _the incident_ as he was now calling it. In fact, _the incident_ probably was just a hallucination. An insomnia-induced hallucination. 

Was he really so horny that he’s started to imagine his roommate naked in broad daylight? _That’s kind of sad_ . Zuko thought to himself. _Agni, I need to get laid before I really start losing it._ ****

As his eggs started to sizzle on the frying pan, the door to Sokka’s room flung open. Sokka emerged, fully dressed and sheepishly rubbing his head. He shuffled over to the counter and leaned against it. 

“Hey,” Sokka started somewhat awkwardly, “I’m really sorry about before. I know that’s definitely not what you wanted to see when you first got home.”

“No,” Zuko replied unthinkingly, shifting the frying pan on the stove. “I mean — uh, it’s alright. Don’t worry about it."

Sokka chuckled. “Still - I know a dick is probably low on your priority list of things to look at. So I’m really sorry.”

Zuko huffed out a laugh. “Not that low - I do hope to get laid sometime this year, at least.”

“What?” Sokka asked, eyes bulging from his head. 

Zuko frowned, transferring the egg from the pan to a plate. _He does know that I’m gay, right?_ He thought to himself. 

He knew Sokka wasn’t homophobic, Aang had passionately declared their apartment a place of acceptance, for all cultures, genders & sexualities, during their first week living there. Sokka had agreed wholeheartedly and announced his bisexuality then and there. Zuko figured that he’d been pretty obvious about his own sexuality. While he hadn’t explicitly said anything, he was a dance major for Agni’s sake — the stereotypes write themselves.

 _I guess the joke didn’t land._ Zuko thought dispassionately. 

“Seriously,” Zuko intoned, looking up from his plate to look Sokka in the eye. “It’s totally fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Sokka nodded, giving Zuko a thankful smile. “Has it happened before?” Zuko questioned, unable to keep himself from asking. “The sleepwalking, I mean. Not the, uh, other part.” He quickly shoved another forkful of his breakfast into his mouth to keep him from speaking and embarrassing himself further. 

Sokka looked off, running his hand through his hair. He huffed out a breath. “Yeah, it happened a bunch when I was younger. Just after my mom had passed.” He smiled sadly and looked at Zuko. “It's probably stress related.”

Zuko nodded empathetically. “I started having trouble sleeping too, after my mom was gone. I still deal with it, but it’s always worse when I’m stressed out or anxious.”

Sokka smiled again, cheering up slightly. Zuko smiled back from around a forkful of his breakfast. A comfortable quiet fell over the pair as Sokka moved to grab a bowl of cereal. He plopped with gusto onto the stool next to Zuko and began eating with vigor. 

Suddenly pausing, he turned to Zuko. “Just need to clear one thing up,” he stated, grabbing Zuko’s attention. “You like men? Like sexually?”

Zuko choked briefly around a mouthful. “Yes?” He responded. “I thought, uh, I thought you knew that.” He wiped his face, mouth suddenly feeling dry. 

“No, I had no idea,” Sokka replied, shaking his head. He shoveled another spoonful of cereal into his mouth. “So,” he said, swallowing it down. “What’s your, like, type?”

“My type?” Zuko squeaked, incredulous. 

“Like, what kind of men do you like?” Sokka said. “Or like, what was the last guy you dated like?”

Zuko, in fact, had never really dated. At Cal U, when he first began to explore his sexuality, he mostly had one-night stands. It felt like too much of a risk to him to have a relationship, especially when he still had his father to answer to. 

Zuko had also never really given much thought into the type of person he preferred. He had only every thought of why he _shouldn't_ like someone, not why he should. So now, the only answer that popped into his head was " _You"—_ which would undoubtedly make the Sokka very uncomfortable and make the dorm unbearable for the next week. 

“I’m not sure,” Zuko answered truthfully. “I’ve never really thought about it.”

“Never thought about it!” Sokka retorted dramatically. “That’s impossible. Everyone’s thought about it. I, myself, think about it _often_.”

“Often?” Zuko blurted, surprised. “What’s your type then?”

Sokka blushed. He pushed his cereal around the bowl with his spoon, suddenly bashful. “It’s embarrassing to say.”

Zuko smirked. “Not so easy, is it?”

Sokka pouted. “This is unfair! You know all about Aang’s and my love histories. I told you all about Suki.”

This was true — one Friday night, they had snuck some beer into their dorm and thrown a small get together. Katara and roommate, the blind yet terrifying Toph, had stopped by and their group proceeded to get obscenely drunk. It was a miracle that they got away without a visit from the RA, with how loud their group got.

Somewhere towards the middle of the night, Sokka began regaling the tale of how he and his last girlfriend, Suki, got together, fell in love and subsequently broke up. Zuko remembered how he had sulked in the corner, only thinking about how abysmal his chance with Sokka really was. Suki could not have been more different than Zuko. 

“Aang’s only love history is the longstanding torch he carries for your sister,” Zuko remarked. Finished with his breakfast, he stands and makes his way to clean his dishes. 

Sokka grabbed his arm, stopping him from moving to the sink. “Come on, you have to give me something here.” He made eye contact with Zuko and Zuko felt himself start to cave. 

“I mean I guess I like—,” Zuko started, only to be cut off by his phone ringing for the second time that morning. “Sorry, that’s probably my Uncle. I have to take this.” He said consolingly, moving to grab the phone.

“Yeah, yeah,” Sokka huffed, but he let Zuko’s arm out of his grasp. “Don’t think I will forget about this!” Sokka wagged his finger at Zuko, who laughed as he took his phone and moved to his bedroom.

His smiled at his phone, seeing his Uncle’s name and photo on the screen. 

“Hello, Uncle,” Zuko answered. “Did you arrive safely?”

“Nephew!” Uncle called, speaking a bit too loudly into the phone. “Yes, we arrived at the hotel a bit earlier this morning. I called earlier, when we first landed, but it seems you missed my call.”

Zuko’s mind unhelpfully produced a visual of just what prevented him from answering his phone earlier that morning. He felt his face redden.

“Sorry, Uncle,” Zuko coughed. “I was, uh, a bit busy.” Zuko very well could not tell his Uncle that the reason he missed his call was because he was facing down his asleep roommate's, _very impressive,_ naked body. 

“No need to be sorry,” Uncle chortled. “I remember what it is like to be young and busy. I am glad you have friends to keep you from your phone.”

Zuko smiled and moved to sit on his bed. “When does your conference begin, Uncle?”

“Oh not for some time,” Uncle hummed. “I’m hoping to find someone here willing to play me in pai-sho before it begins. There are a few members of the white lotus here — should make for an interesting match.”

The white lotus were a group of elite pai-sho players located across the four kingdoms. Uncle had long since been a member and often tried to recruit Zuko. Zuko, unfortunately, was terrible at the game but humored his Uncle nonetheless. Many members of the white lots, coincidentally, were also tea fanatics. His Uncle was not the first member to open a tea shop. 

“I’m sure you’ll find someone,” Zuko responded. 

“Oh! That reminds me,” Uncle said. “I need you to take over for our poor Jet this afternoon at the store. He called in sick earlier today.”

Jet was a part-time employee at Uncle’s shop. He was notorious for calling in sick at a moment’s notice often leaving Zuko to pick up his schedule. Jet was exceedingly convincing at acting sick, fooling his Uncle everytime.

“Of course,” Zuko replied, biting down his resentment towards Jet. “I’ll be there within the hour.”

“Thank you, Zuko,” Uncle said. “I will see you next weekend.”

“See you then. Goodbye, Uncle.” 

Zuko flopped onto his back, throwing his phone away from him on the bed. Frustrated, he let out a long groan. He was on schedule for the evening shift as well, meaning he’d be at the store for the remainder of the day and would have to close. 

Eventually, he rolled from his bed and pulled on the shop’s uniform. The uniform itself was a plain black t-shirt embroidered with the shop’s name, _The Jasmine Dragon,_ in dark green lettering. Zuko’s family had a thing for dragons, it seemed. 

He left the dorm, waving a quick goodbye to Sokka, and set upon his way to the shop. At this point in the semester, he knew the route to and from the shop like the back of his hand. He had made the trip a few times a week since moving into the dorm. 

His Uncle employed a few college-aged students as part-timers at the shop. When he first started, Zuko had a hard time connecting with them. Back then, he still had not come to terms with leaving his first university and they reminded him of what he had lost. As time went on, he established a tentative camaraderie with his coworkers — the long hours they shared brewing tea helped building a common ground. 

Lucky for Zuko, Jet was originally scheduled to work with Haru, another university student, for the afternoon shift. Out of all his coworkers, Zuko found Haru easiest to be around. He was just the right amount of friendly that Zuko felt at ease but unburdened by his more shy nature. 

Arriving at the store, Zuko smiled at Haru who was already inside. 

“No Jet today?” Haru questioned, leaning at the counter.

“Don’t act surprised.” Zuko laughed. “He was due for one of his _sick days_.”

Throwing his head back, Haru laughed with his whole body. “How he keeps getting away with it is beyond me."

A few customers entered the shop, and Zuko busied himself by the kettle. He rarely worked the register, preferring to brew the tea and avoid speaking directly to customers. Haru had picked up on this preference and never questioned him on it, something Zuko was grateful for. 

The two worked amicably as a steady stream of customers flowed into the shop. It tended to get busy mid-afternoon as classes ended for the day — the shop was a hot spot for university students and professors.

Eventually, the flow of customers died down and Zuko let out a deep breath. There were only a few people in the store, most working silently on their laptops and sipping on their drinks.

Haru turned to Zuko from the register. “Are you staying in Ba Sing Se for the break?”

“Yeah,” Zuko hummed, wiping down the counter. “I’m staying in the dorm.”

“I’m staying, too.” Haru smiled. He moved closer to Zuko. “You know, my roommates and I are throwing a little party to celebrate making it halfway through the semester tonight. You should come.”

Zuko looked up. “A party?” 

“Yeah,” Haru replied. “We have a pretty nice place off-campus. I’ll text you the details.”

Zuko swallowed. _Was it just him, or was Haru standing really close to him right now?_ “Is it alright if I bring my roommate?” He asked. Just then the bell above the front door chimed, signalling a customer was walking in.

“The more the merrier,” Haru chirped, stepping away from Zuko and towards the register.

“Sounds like fun,” Zuko responded. The last party he went to resulted in him being thrown from his childhood home. Determined to start the new semester off right, he had resoundingly avoided partying. He’d blown off Aang and Sokka’s invitations to go out — only really drinking when they’d stay in the dorm. 

However, Zuko liked Haru. The party would be a good chance to expand his small circle of friends. Throwing away his anxieties, he made the decision to go. He pulled out his phone to send Sokka a text.

_\- Party tonight. Want 2 come?_

His phone buzzed mere seconds later. 

_\- god yes. im in_. 

Zuko smiled. He felt a bit of relief knowing he would have someone to accompany him. 

The rest of the evening passed uneventfully at the store. Haru left a bit before Zuko, waving to him goodbye, and Zuko closed up shop without much ceremony. He took the bus back to campus idly watching the streetlamps from the window. As he neared the dorm, he realized the situation he had just put himself in.

He would be going to a party with Sokka — without Aang to serve as a buffer. Zuko rubbed his face with a groan, knowing he’d be bound to make a fool out of himself at one point during the night. 

_It’ll be fine._ Zuko reassured himself. _Nothing could be more embarrassing than this morning, anyways._

Steeling himself, he got off the bus and made his way into his building. He scaled the staircase to his floor and opened the door to the suite. Before he was able to settle in, he was bombarded by Sokka.

“Dude!” Sokka exclaimed, grabbing Zuko by the arm. “You’ve been holding out on us. Since when do you party?”

“I party,” Zuko retorted, offended. He shrugged off Sokka’s hand. “It’s just been a busy first semester, is all.”

“Not that I’m complaining,” Sokka placified him, putting his hands in front of his body. “I’m in dire need of a night out. Who’s party is it?”

“Friend from the tea shop, Haru.” Zuko replied. He toed off his shoes and made his way to sit on the couch, Sokka trailing behind him. 

Sitting just a tad too close for comfort, Sokka leaned into Zuko’s space. “Since when do you have friends outside me and Aang?”

“It’s been known to happen!” Zuko cried. Despite not being close with Haru, Zuko felt oddly defensive of the careful friendship he had built with him. 

“Well,” Sokka responded, leaning back and giving Zuko room to breathe. “I plan on getting _drunk_. This week has been hell.”

Zuko smiled, feeling relieved Sokka let up on his interrogation. “Tell me about it.” 

Zuko looked at Sokka with sudden interest, noting he was still in the sweats that he was wearing earlier that morning. “Have you left this dorm, today?”

Sokka took on a sheepish expression. “Since you left, I have literally only left my bed to grab snacks.”

Zuko shook his head. “I’m going to shower. You should probably change before we leave.”

Sokka made a face. “It's only eight thirty! I have plenty of time.”

Zuko rolled his eyes and made his way to the bathroom. 

“Is that sass I detect?” Sokka shouted from the couch. 

Zuko looked back as Sokka leaned out on the couch, taking over the space he had left. Sokka lifted his hands above his head causing his shirt to lift and display his abs. Zuko couldn’t stop his eyes from lingering on the exposed skin. 

He turned back towards the bathroom and promptly wacked his face on the doorframe, apparently misjudging how close he was to the room. 

“Ow, fuck,” He cursed, grabbing his face. 

“Shit, dude,” Sokka said, sitting up on the couch. “Are you ok?”

“Perfectly fine,” Zuko called, still clutching the side of his face in pain. 

“Are you sure? Looks like that might leave a mark.” Sokka responded, face twisting in concern.

“Had worse,” Zuko tried to joke, gesturing to his scar. Sokka looked vaguely horrified. 

_Cool it with the jokes, Zuko._ Zuko thought to himself.

“Gonna shower now,” He called, diving into the bathroom and saving himself from further mortification. 

Zuko looked into the mirror, staring at his reflection. He had hit the left side, whatever mark that the doorframe gave him was hidden by his scar. Letting out a sigh, he pushed his hair away from his face. 

_Tonight will be fun_. Zuko told his reflection. _You will not make a fool out of yourself._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the jet slander, but to be honest, we all know in our hearts that man would not be a good employee. 
> 
> thank you for all the comments!! they make my day <3


	5. 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> toph makes an appearance! also tw: alcohol consumption

The spray of the showerhead helped to clear Zuko’s head. He resigned himself to the fact that it was extremely unlikely, if not downright impossible, that he’d leave this night without making a fool of himself. Washing his face, the lingering pain on his cheek reminded him that he already had. 

_Could I be more embarrassing?_ Zuko despaired as he stepped out of the shower and toweled off.

Checking his phone on the bathroom counter, he noticed a message from Haru. He wiped off the screen fog caused from the steam of the shower to read it.

_— 262 Main St Apt #2. See you then ;)_

Zuko squinted at the symbols at the end of the text, not knowing its meaning. Growing up, Zuko had minimal access to social media and did not really have many friends to communicate with over text. Aang had only recently introduced him to emojis, but this was different from the circular yellow faces he had become used to. Shrugging, Zuko wrote it off as just Haru being friendly. He replied with a quick, _See you!_

Zuko tied the towel around his waist and stepped out of the bathroom. He spotted Sokka lounging on the couch in the same position he had left him. 

“Finally!” Sokka cried at the sight of Zuko. “You take _suuuuch_ long showers, man.”

“You need to get changed,” Zuko replied, crossing his arms over his chest. Sokka’s eyes briefly followed the movement, before he shook his head.

“I was waiting for you!” He pouted. “What should we wear? Is there a theme?” Sokka leaned over the back of the couch to look up at Zuko, putting his face in his hands. 

“No theme. Definitely don’t wear that,” Zuko pointed at his stained sweats. 

“Ugh,” Sokka rolled his eyes and got off the couch. “Fine. I’m getting dressed, with no help from you!”

“What kind of adult needs help getting dressed!” Zuko shouted.

Sokka threw him the finger and opened the door to his bedroom, stepping inside to change. Huffing, Zuko made his way over to his own room to do the same. 

Back at Cal U, Zuko had a few go-to outfits for whenever he would go out. They were essentially all the same, dark jeans and a decently nice red shirt — sometimes long-sleeved, sometimes a tee, depending on the weather. What separated his going-out clothes from his daily wear was simply that the jeans were _much_ more tight than anything he’d be willing to be caught in during daylight hours. While not necessarily creative, Zuko had never heard any complaints. 

He pulled on his pants and opted for a long-sleeved shirt, not wanting to bring a jacket. He shoved his wallet into his back pocket and paused to check himself out in his floor-length mirror. The jeans he had chosen fit him well and the vibrancy of his red shirt contrasted nicely with his skin. Zuko briefly fixed his hair, satisfied with his appearance.

He stepped out to the living room and sat down on the couch, waiting for Sokka. Bored, he pulled out his phone and started scrolling through his socials. He double tapped on a picture Aang had posted of the mountains. _So much for a social media detox._ Zuko thought. 

“Sokka,” He called, after waiting for a few minutes. “Are you ready yet?”

“Give me a few minutes,” Sokka called back from beyond his door. “Not all of us are just born looking like that you know!"

“Hurry up!” Zuko shouted, Sokka’s meaning completely lost on him. 

“Fine, fine!” Sokka shouted back, opening his door. “I'm just deciding between this shirt or my other one, anyways.”

Sokka looked good. The blue henley he was wearing both showed off the broadness of his shoulders and brought out the blue in his eyes.

“You look nice,” Zuko offered, stiltedly. 

“' _You look nice',_ he says,” Sokka mimicked. “That’s reassuring.”

“To be fair, you always look nice,” Zuko answered, a bit too honest for his own good. 

“Heh, thanks,” Sokka responded, rubbing the back of his neck. He moved to sit next to Zuko on the couch. The pair looked at each other for a moment, an uncomfortable silence falling on the room.

“We should—” Zuko began.

“I’m going to—” Sokka started.

The pair laughed uncomfortably. Zuko made a “you first” gesture with his hands. Sokka gave a placating smile. 

“I’m going to call the uber,” He said. “What’s the address?”

“Oh right,” Zuko said, grabbing his phone and opening the message from Haru. “I have it here.” 

He moved to show the message on his phone to Sokka. An odd expression crossed over Sokka’s face as he read Zuko’s screen.

"Did you get it?” Zuko asked, startled by Sokka’s lack of response. 

Sokka looked away from Zuko’s phone suddenly, typing the address into the app on his own phone and quickly requesting a ride. 

“Yep,” Sokka replied, waving his phone at Zuko. “Driver’s only a few minutes away.”

“Great, let’s go.” Zuko nodded.

He got up from the couch and made his way to the door, Sokka trailing behind. The pair made their way out down the staircase and out of the dorm to wait side-by-side on the street. 

“So,” Sokka began, breath fogging in the night air. “How well do you know this Haru guy, anyway?”

Zuko glanced at Sokka from the corner of his eye. He rubbed his arms, already regretting his choice not to bring a jacket. 

“Not that well,” Zuko responded honestly. “We’ve shared a few shifts at the tea shop.”

Sokka squinted at Zuko with suspicion. “Is that _all_ you’ve shared?”

“Yes?” Zuko answered, confused with the question. 

Sokka stared at Zuko’s face, uncharacteristically quiet. He seemed to find something he was looking for in Zuko’s eyes, because he let out a breath and looked away. 

“Well, if you change your mind about that, just say the word and I’ll peace out.” Sokka said with a resigned tone.

“Peace out?” Zuko questioned, not liking Sokka’s change in tone.

“Yeah, I’ll give you two some space,” Sokka replied as he looked down at his shoes. 

“No, I don’t want space,” Zuko blurted, panicked at the thought of Sokka leaving him alone at the party. “Please don’t give me any space.”

“What?” Sokka asked. “It seemed like—”

“I don’t think I’ll survive in there without you,” Zuko interrupted him, turning to face him straight on. He tried to convey his urgency through his expression to Sokka, who seemed shocked. 

Sokka’s expression changed suddenly and he let out a laugh. He grabbed Zuko by the shoulders and pulled him into his side, his warmth leaking through Zuko’s thin long-sleeve. 

“Just remember, you asked for it!” Sokka called. “A whole night with zero space from Sokka.”

Relief washed over Zuko and he let out a smile. Sokka had phrased it like it was a bad thing, but Zuko knew that he wouldn’t mind a life-time with zero space from Sokka (even if he did constantly embarrass himself in front of the man). 

Just then, a small car pulled around the corner. It slowed and eventually stopped slightly ahead of the curb where Zuko and Sokka were waiting.

“That looks like our guy,” said Sokka, checking the license plate and letting Zuko out of his grip. 

He walked towards the car with a skip in his step. Zuko followed behind, feeling bereft of Sokka’s warmth. The two piled into the car and sat in amicable silence as they made the short trip to Haru’s apartment. 

Zuko could hear music, the bass-line drifting through the car as they turned down Haru’s street. As they got closer, he could hear the shouts and laughter of the partygoers, loud enough to be heard even a few hundred feet away. 

“Haru said it would be a “little” party,” Zuko commented idly as the car pulled up to an apartment busting at the seams with drunken college students. 

“I’m not complaining,” Sokka smiled, opening the door and offering a hand to Zuko. Zuko grabbed on and allowed himself to be pulled from the car. 

“Thanks!” Sokka chirped at the driver, who let out a grunt of acknowledgement before speeding away. 

The pair turned towards Haru’s apartment. It was a large building, the style of it more like a house split in two than a high-rise apartment with many floors. There was a porch that surrounded the building, currently filled with party-goers. Some leaning over the railing to smoke, others simply chatting with their cups in hand. Music was pumping from inside, signaling that the party was really happening in there. 

Zuko turned to Sokka. “Let’s go grab a drink?”

Sokka let out a whoop and pulled Zuko, leading him up to the porch and inside the front door. Once inside, Zuko was bombarded with a wave of heat. There were people everywhere, jam-packed into what must’ve been the living room. 

Sokka peered out, head above the crowd due to his height, looking for something. He stopped with satisfaction, apparently finding it. 

“Drinks are this way,” said Sokka, hand still holding onto Zuko’s arm. “Come on!”

Zuko chuckled and allowed himself to be dragged through the crowd. Sokka apparently intended to make good on his promise to give Zuko zero space. He was led to what looked like the kitchen, where bottles of alcohol littered the counter space. 

“Damn,” Sokka whistled, surveying the bottles. “They really went all out for this.”

Zuko turned to Sokka, face full of determination. “Let’s take shots.”

“Oh, Zuko,” Sokka cried, wiping away a false tear. “I was starting to think you’d never ask!”

Zuko let out a small laugh and busied himself with grabbing two cups from the counter for the two of them to use. He grabbed a bottle of tequila and roughly it poured out. He presented Sokka with a cup, raising his eyebrow. “Are you ready for this?”

Sokka grabbed the cup and brought it towards his face, sniffing it. He made a face and gagged. “Ew, tequila? Really, Zuko?”

Zuko shrugged. Tequila was his preferred drink — he liked the way it burned down his throat and the way that it made him feel, warming him from the inside out. 

Sokka looked away, eyes searching the counter. “Okay,” Sokka said. “I can do this, but only if we have salt.” 

Sokka let out a sudden cry of victory. He reached over Zuko’s shoulder, body pressing in close, and grabbed a salt shaker from behind the many bottles of alcohol. Setting his cup on the counter behind Zuko, Sokka made eye contact. 

“Are you ready for this, Zuko?” Sokka said, throwing Zuko’s words back at him. Zuko watched, mind blank and open mouthed, as Sokka poured out a line of salt. onto the hollow of his hand and licked.

Sokka pushed the shaker into Zuko’s hand, motioning for him to do the same. Zuko complied mindlessly, his brain stuck in a vicious loop replaying Sokka’s tongue flicking out from his mouth. 

Sokka quickly grabbed his cup and gave a half-hearted cheers to Zuko before throwing back the shot. He gagged viciously, startling Zuko from his reverie. Zuko quickly took his own shot, the alcohol going down much more smoothly for him than Sokka.

“Tui and la,” Sokka cried, clutching at his throat. “No more tequila. I can’t handle it.”

Zuko huffed out a laugh — he didn’t think he could handle watching Sokka’s tongue on salt again, either. 

“You didn’t even flinch, did you?” Sokka glared, pointing his index finger at Zuko. “Alright, give me your cup. I’m making us mixed drinks.”

Zuko handed him the cup, offering no resistance. Sokka grabbed it and quickly set off, grabbing a few different bottles from the counter in addition to soda. Zuko became nervous as he watched Sokka rub his hands together with evil. 

“Um,” Zuko began, watching Sokka pour three bottles at once into his cup. “What _exactly_ are you putting in there?"

“Don’t worry about it.” He responded, giving Zuko a grin. “It’s the Sokka special.”

He thrust a cup into Zuko’s hand. Peering into the cup, Zuko took a small whiff and was assaulted with the violent smell of alcohol. Eyes watering, he looked at Sokka, who eagerly motioned for him to try. 

Taking a deep breath, Zuko lifted the cup to his mouth and drank. Surprisingly, it went down easy. He looked at Sokka wide-eyed. “That’s actually not bad.”

“The work of a master.” Sokka replied, brushing imaginary dirt off his shoulder. He brought his drink to his mouth, taking a sip and looking over to the crowd. Zuko turned following his gaze and was met with the image of Haru, only a few feet away, red-faced from alcohol. 

“Zuko!” Haru cried, making his way over to where they were standing. “You made it!” 

Once in the kitchen, Haru swept Zuko up in a hug. Zuko looked to Sokka eyes wide as his arms hung limp at his sides. Haru was apparently much more tactile when drunk — they’d never once even high-fived at the shop. Zuko was not equipped to handle this much casual physical contact.

Zuko let out an awkward laugh and gently pushed Haru away. “Hey, Haru,” he greeted evenly. He gestured to his left, introducing Sokka. “This is my roommate, Sokka.” 

Haru hummed not acknowledging Sokka, his glassy eyes not once leaving Zuko’s face. 

“This is a real nice apartment,” Sokka offered, trying to catch Haru’s attention. “Thanks for inviting us.”

“Oh, thanks,” Haru responded, casting a brief glance to Sokka’s direction. He looked back to Zuko. “A few of us are playing beer pong on the back porch, want to join?”

Haru smiled and pointed behind himself to the open screen-door. Zuko looked to Sokka, trying to gauge what he’d want to do. Sokka caught his eyes and slung an arm around Zuko’s shoulder.

“Of course we do!” Sokka cried, jostling Zuko slightly. “You’re looking at the best beer pong team this side of Omashu!”

Haru’s smile cracked slightly. “Great. You can both follow me.” 

He led them through the crowd and out the screen-door. Once outside, Zuko breathed in the cool air. It felt good to be away from the heat of the crowd. The back porch was quite spacious, decorated with string-lights and a few plants. At the center was a long table where a game of a new game of beer pong was about to take place. 

Zuko felt Sokka elbow him. “Dude, I think that’s Katara’s roommate, Toph!” Sokka cried, pointing to the tiny figure on the far-side of the table. 

“Isn’t she blind?” Zuko asked, squinting to see. Ever since his injury, he didn’t do well in low-lighting and he was unable to make out the girl’s face. He could see, on the side closest to him, that she was up against a beefy frat boy.

“She’s very good,” commented Haru, startling Zuko who had forgotten he was there. “She hasn’t been knocked off the table, yet. Should be interesting now that she’s against The Boulder, though.”

The beefy frat boy was wearing a t-shirt with the words “The Boulder” emblazoned on the back. Apparently, it was his nickname. 

“The Boulder feels conflicted about playing a young, blind girl.” called The Boulder, as he held a ping-pong ball pensively in his hand. 

From across the table, Toph sneered. “Sounds to me like you're scared, Boulder!”

Steaming with anger, he let out a grunt and pointed his fist at Toph. "The Boulder's over his conflicted feelings and now he's ready to bury you!"

“Bring it on, ‘the pebble’,” Toph retorted, undisturbed by his show of aggression. 

Zuko watched with rapt attention as Toph proceeded to sink every shot, winning the game in less than five turns. As she polished off the final cup, she smirked. “I win, again.” 

The Boulder’s shoulders dropped with defeat, his body swaying from drinking all the cups of beer. “The Boulder accepts his loss.” He said, moving away from the table.

Toph let out a wild yell. “Who wants to be defeated next!” She cried. 

Sokka turned to Zuko, looking him in the eye before raising his hand. “We do!” He shouted, pulling Zuko by his arm from the edge of the porch to the table. 

“Snoozles, is that you?” Toph asked. 

“It’s me, Sokka,” He replied. “I brought Zuko, too.”

“Two on one, eh?” Toph smirked. “I can take you both.”

Zuko began setting the table, filling the cups on their side. Toph’s side had remained pristine as the last game ended without her opponent landing a single shot. 

“Bring it,” Sokka retorted, flexing his muscles as if Toph could see him. “You get first shot.”

Toph proceeded to sink both her shots with practiced ease. Zuko grabbed one of the sunk cups and pushed the other to Sokka to drink. He downed his cup and grimaced — he had overfilled them with beer.

“Our turn,” Sokka cried, grabbing one of the ping pong balls and pushing the other to Zuko. 

“That’s obvious,” sneered Toph, flicking her nails with nonchalance.

Sokka, easily provoked, flung his ball with just a tad too much power. It ricocheted off the side of one of the cups and flew off the porch. 

“Nice one, blockhead,” called Toph, as she grabbed an extra ball from a basket filled with them to the left of the table. “You’re up, Sparky.”

Zuko positioned himself and let the ball fly. It swirled around the centermost cup before ultimately dropping in. Sokka let out a loud whoop and gave Zuko’s shoulder a squeeze. “Nice one, Zuko.”

Zuko smiled, enjoying the attention from Sokka. 

“A lucky shot!” Toph yelled from her side of the table, grabbing the sunk cup and dumping it on the floor of the porch.

“You’re not drinking the beer?” Sokka cried, incredulous. 

“Are you peer pressuring a poor blind girl into drinking?” Toph threw back, making a face at Sokka. “That’s messed up, Snoozles.”

“Whatever,” Sokka retorted. “You’ll need to be sober to beat us anyway!”

“You’re already losing!”

Toph proceeded to go round after round without missing a cup. Sokka and Zuko proceeded to become exceedingly drunk, downing cup after cup. Zuko and Sokka had managed to knock a few of Toph’s cups in the first few rounds, but as time went on they became increasingly sloppy.

“Any last words?” Toph yelled as she positioned herself to sink the final cup.

Sokka turned to Zuko and grabbed his hands dramatically. “It has been an honor to serve with you, soldier.”

Drunk Zuko found this absolutely hilarious and couldn’t hold back. “Aye, aye, Captain.” Zuko responded, barely getting out the joke through his giggles. 

Sokka let out a peal of laughter, pushing at Zuko’s shoulder. 

“You two are disgusting,” Toph shouted. She threw the ping-pong ball and it landed, as expected, directly into the final cup. “Get off of my porch.” She waved at them dismissively. 

“Let’s go,” Sokka said, giggling at Zuko. He grabbed him by the arm and led him back inside the apartment.

“Where are we going?” asked Zuko, still smiling.

Sokka stopped abruptly before turning them around. “Drinks first.” He said, leading them towards the kitchen. 

Zuko nodded sagely. “Sokka special.”

Sokka stopped, eyes filling with unshed tears. “You think I’m special?”

Zuko nodded, surprised by the sudden change in emotion. It wasn’t exactly what he had meant, he was talking about the concoction Sokka created earlier, but he didn’t disagree. 

“That means so much to me, man,” Sokka whispered, holding Zuko’s face in his hands. “You have no idea.”

He dropped Zuko’s face suddenly. “Hold that thought.” Sokka blurted, pushing a finger into Zuko’s face. Zuko blinked as Sokka ran to the kitchen, pushing his way to the sink and began to vomit. 

Zuko followed his trail, stepping behind Sokka to rub his back. “I think it is time we go home.” Zuko said softly to Sokka, once the vomiting seemed to have finished. “I’ll call the uber.”

Sokka nodded and offered a thumbs up, unable to speak as another wave of vomit hit him. 

“Ugh,” Sokka gasped, turning on the tap and washing the last of it away. “I really can’t do tequila shots.”

Zuko nodded, still rubbing his back. He had already put in the address of their dorm and requested a ride. The driver would be there in just a few minutes.

“Let’s go wait out front,” He suggested, grabbing Sokka’s wrist to pull him along. Sokka complied easily and the two pushed their way through the party to the front door.

Zuko led Sokka from the apartment into the uber. The ride back to the dorm was short but painful, as the motion of the car seemed to trigger Sokka’s nausea. Zuko kept his hand on Sokka’s back the entire time, both trying to ease his pain and keep him from costing him a cleaning fee. 

They pulled up to the curb of their building and Sokka flung open the door before the car came to a complete stop. 

“Hey,” The driver called sharply. “Be careful!”

Sokka ran out of the car, Zuko following behind after offering the driver a quick apology. 

“Tui and la.” Sokka cried. “I thought I was going to die in there.” 

“Feel better now?” Zuko asked, swiping into their building. 

“A bit,” Sokka replied. He looked a little less green, Zuko noted. “Sorry about puking in your friend’s sink.”

Zuko laughed as he pushed open the door to their suite, holding it open for Sokka. “I won’t tell if you don’t.”

Sokka smiled and stepped inside, turning on the lights and taking off his shoes. Zuko shut the door quietly and moved into the kitchen, grabbing glasses of water for the two of them. 

He passed one along to Sokka, who accepted gratefully. He drank half the glass in one go, pausing to swallow.

“I think the vomiting helped me sober up,” Sokka said, wiping his wet mouth. 

Zuko watched with glassy eyes as Sokka’s lips glistened from the water. “Can’t say the same,” Zuko replied honestly, eyes still on Sokka’s mouth. 

Sokka laughed. “Better that way.”

Sokka drank the rest of his glass and moved to set the empty cup in the sink. Zuko watched him move, taking small sips of his own glass. Sokka turned to Zuko, yawning slightly.

“I think I’m going to hit the hay,” Sokka said and moved towards his bedroom door. Zuko nodded but felt a swell of disappointment. He was sad to say goodnight, he didn’t want the night to be over just yet.

Sokka stopped, hand hovering over the doorknob, and turned back to face Zuko. “I had fun tonight,” he said, smiling at Zuko. “Thanks for bringing me.”

“Anytime.” Zuko replied, meaning it from the bottom of his heart. Sokka slipped away to his bedroom and left Zuko feeling oddly bereft in the kitchen. 

He slowly finished his glass of water, not feeling any less drunk than he had upon arriving home. Zuko could never fall asleep after drinking and it was part of the reason why he had stayed away from partying this semester. At Cal U, he had always drank with the full intention to find someone to _not sleep with_ that night.

Zuko watched as the light from Sokka’s room turned off, signalling that he had finally gone to bed. He moved to the sink to wash his cup, cleaning the empty one left by Sokka, too. As he dried the glasses, he still felt alarmingly awake. 

He decided to make use of his energy and cleaned the entirety of the kitchen. He wiped down the counters, emptied the toaster, and cleaned out the microwave. As he finished, he glanced at the clock and noted with frustration that was already four in the morning and he felt no inkling of tiredness.

Sighing, Zuko decided to make himself a cup of herbal tea. He busied himself with measuring out the leaves and filling the kettle. As he waited for the tea to brew, he pulled out his phone. Zuko a few messages from Haru earlier that night asking where he had gone, and a reply from himself that he didn’t recall sending that simply said “v sick g2g." 

The kettle switched off signalling that it was done. Zuko poured himself a cup and moved to sit on the couch. He sipped his tea in silence, grimacing. Herbal tea always tasted the worst. 

Suddenly, Sokka’s door flew open. Zuko spilled his tea in surprise, hissing as some of the hot water landed on his lap. Sokka emerged from the room moving towards Zuko, eyes closed and mouth slack. The noise Zuko had made apparently just enough to grab his attention without waking him. 

Sokka was wearing underwear this time, Zuko noted with a small amount of disappointment. His disappointment was soon replaced with alarm as Sokka moved into his space on the couch, sitting thigh to thigh with Zuko. Zuko stared, scared to move, as Sokka’s head began to fall ever so slowly onto his shoulder. 

When his head made contact with Zuko’s shoulder, Sokka seemed to fall back into a deep asleep, body becoming loose. Zuko used his opposite hand to pull out his phone and emergency google “what to do when someone sleepwalks." He found the biggest no-go was to wake them. 

Zuko stilled his body with herculean effort, afraid that his slightest movement would wake Sokka, who had snuggled into his shoulder. _In only his underwear, too_. His mind supplied, unhelpfully. 

Eventually, Sokka rolled to the right, giving Zuko an opening to make his escape. He stood, careful not to jostle Sokka, and slipped away from the couch to open the door to his own bedroom. 

Zuko looked at Sokka, curled around himself on the couch, and felt a pull in his chest. He grabbed a spare blanket from his closet and moved to cover Sokka. As he placed the blanket over Sokka’s shoulder, he felt a hand grab his wrist. 

He looked up and met with Sokka’s open eyes.

“Did I sleepwalk, again?” Sokka asked, voice deep with sleep.

“You were wearing underwear this time.” Zuko responded.

“I had a feeling I would, so I put ‘em on,” Sokka yawned. “Usually sleep naked.”

Zuko did not know how he was ever going to fall asleep again now knowing that just across the hall, Sokka would be naked beneath his covers. 

Sokka let go of his wrist and snuggled back into the couch, falling back asleep. Zuko let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, suddenly feeling bone tired. He moved back to his bedroom and flopped onto his bed, falling asleep in his clothes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> & the suffering continues


	6. Chapter 6

Zuko awoke to the sound of clanging in the kitchen, of cabinets being opened and shut. Rolling onto his stomach and groaning, he felt a pounding in his skull. He clutched at his head as he felt the effects of last night hit him hard.

He felt absolutely disgusting. Still in his clothes from last night, the faint smell of Sokka’s vomit lingering on the fabric. He should have jumped in the shower last night, instead of manically cleaning the kitchen. He sat up with the intention to just that, but winced as his headache increased tenfold with the new position. 

He pulled out his phone to glance at the time. He slept away the morning, he noted with surprise. Zuko usually awoke, even with minimal sleep, exactly at sunrise. With his insomnia, this meant he operated on only a few hours of sleep. While he was thankful he got in much needed rest, he knew that sleeping this late would only make it harder to fall asleep tonight. 

_ I’ll have to take some of Uncle’s melatonin tonight. _ Zuko thought. He grabbed a change of clothes and a towel before making his way out of his bedroom. 

“Zuko!” Sokka called loudly from the kitchen upon seeing him. He waved his fork at Zuko. “Welcome to the land of the living!”

Sokka was much too energetic for Zuko to currently handle. He looked as if he had no ill-effects from last night, despite spending a good amount of time puking his brains out. 

Zuko grunted his hello, not yet capable of speech. Sokka’s volume had caused his headache to worsen ever so slightly. He waved his towel and nodded his head to the bathroom, trying to signal that he’d be taking a shower. 

“Showering? Cool. ” Sokka replied. He motioned to the kitchen counter. “I have some lunch for you here, when you’re done.” He shoveled a piece of some sort of sausage-type meat into his mouth and smiled. 

Zuko caught a whiff of the food he had made and felt his stomach turn. Sokka didn’t cook often, but when he did, it was usually some sort of traditional water tribe meat dish. Zuko hadn’t yet become accustomed to the smell of blubbered seal meat, despite living with Sokka for these past few weeks. Hiding his reaction, he quickly dove into the bathroom. 

He took his time in the shower, enjoying the feeling of the almost too-hot water cascading over his skin. Secretly, he hoped that if he killed enough time, Sokka would just eat the extra food he had prepared. The other was known for his massive appetite, often eating Aang and Zuko’s leftovers. 

He stepped out of the shower, towelling off and dressing himself in the change of clothes he had brought. He opened the door and stepped out, a cloud of steam trailing behind him. 

Sokka looked up at him sheepishly from his seat at the counter. “So, I may have eaten just a few of your seal sausages.” He said, gesturing to the plate beside him. “But, I left the biggest piece for you!”

“Oh,” Zuko said belatedly. “Thank you.” 

He sat in the seat beside him at the counter. Not wanting to draw suspicion from Sokka, he turned to him smiling. “It looks great.”

“Don’t I know it. Best seal you’ll find outside of the South pole.”

Now that the plate was in front of him, Zuko felt assaulted by the smell of the meat. He stood abruptly. “I’m just going to make some tea before eating.”

“What? No, it’ll get cold!” Sokka cried, grabbing his arm and dragging him down. “I’ll heat up the water for you. Dive right in!”

Defeated, Zuko slumped back down in his seat. He reluctantly grabbed the knife laid beside the plate and cut the seal sausage into bite-sized pieces. He figured he could stomach the meat if he ate in small doses. Feeling Sokka’s eyes on him, he quickly brought the food to his mouth, chewing with false eagerness. 

“It’s delicious, Sokka.” Zuko bit out, hiding his disgust. He felt his stomach turning, still unsettled from last night. 

Sokka looked visibly relieved. He turned his back to Zuko to turn on the kettle, and Zuko quickly dumped the majority of his plate into the trash, not wanting to hurt Sokka’s feelings.

“You know, you’re the only person here that appreciates Water Tribe food as much as I do.” Sokka mused as he grabbed a mug from the cabinet. “Aang’s too vegetarian to truly get the whole package.”

Zuko gave Sokka a watery smile, not wanting to expose himself. The kettle clicked off and Sokka quickly grabbed one of Zuko’s tea bags, plopping it into the mug. He filled the cup with water and turned back to Zuko, pushing it into his hands.

“Wow you’ve nearly finished already!” He cried with surprise.

“I must’ve been hungry,” Zuko responded, stomach lurching. 

He brought the mug to his lips, inhaling the familiar aroma of his Uncle’s famous jasmine tea. Even just the smell had helped to quell his stomach’s unease. He took a long drink from the mug, feeling better already.

“It boggles my mind that you can drink that straight from the kettle,” Sokka commented, eyeing the steam flowing from Zuko’s mug. “I always make Katara add ice cubes when she makes tea back home.”

“Tea is best drank hot,” Zuko said, quoting his uncle. “You lose some of the flavor when it cools.”

Sokka hummed and cleared some of the excess plates on the counter, moving to wash them in the sink. He pushed back his sleeves, exposing the muscle of his forearms. 

“Are you working today?” Sokka asked, moving to place a rinsed plate into the dishwasher. 

Zuko paused, trying to remember the schedule for the weekend. He remembered with sudden clarity he was on schedule to close the shop again. Evening shifts were the easiest as fewer customers came in at those hours. He was also the only one on shift, meaning he’d have the shop to himself.

“Yes,” responded Zuko. “I have the evening shift tonight.”

“Bummer,” said Sokka. He closed the dishwasher and dried off his hands. “I’ve gotta go drop Katara off at the airport in an hour or so. We probably won’t see each other 'till late.”

Ba Sing Se was a huge city, with three main rings. The university was located in the middle ring, towards its western side. The airport was located just outside the city’s third ring, east of the city. Unfortunately, this meant getting to and from the airport was a good hour and a half away by car. 

Zuko winced sympathetically. “She’s not taking an uber?”

“Psh,” Sokka huffed. “Those are way too expensive to the airport. Way easier for me to just drop her off.”

“Makes sense,” Zuko agreed. Despite bickering constantly, Sokka obviously cared deeply for his sister, often going out of his way to help her. “You must wish you were able to join her.”

Sokka’s shoulders slumped and he sighed. “Yeah, but it’s my own fault for not filling out the paperwork,” He muttered, sounding resigned. “Besides, I’ll see everyone during the winter holidays.” He pasted on a tired smile. 

Missing out on time with his family clearly weighed on Sokka. Zuko couldn’t relate — he had always detested time off school as it meant that he’d be in constant contact with his sister and Father. Even now that he was in Ba Sing Se with his Uncle, he saw the man often enough that Zuko was quite enjoying the break caused by the Tea convention. Uncle asked too many personal questions, anyways. 

“Well,” Zuko started, attempting to steer the conversation away from the topic of family. “Say ‘hello’ to Toph for me, when you see her.”

Sokka let out a laugh. “Could you believe her last night? How was she so good at beer pong? She’s literally blind!”

“Considering that it’s her, it’s actually not that surprising,” replied Zuko. Toph truly was an enigma. Zuko had met her at several points throughout the semester and he still was not sure what her major was. He’d asked at one point, but she’d responded “Visual Arts” with a deadpan. He didn’t know how to move on from there. 

“Shoot,” Sokka said, looking at the clock above the oven. “I should have left a few minutes ago.” 

He ran out of the kitchen into his bedroom. He came out a few moments later with his glasses on and jacket in hand, running for the front door. As he stopped to put on his shoes, he turned to Zuko. 

“I’ll see you later then?”

Zuko nodded. 

He ran out the door in a hurry. It slammed behind him with a loud bang. Zuko counted mentally to three, assuring himself Sokka was far enough away, before dumping the rest of his plate. He briefly considered joining Aang in his vegetarianism, if it meant he could avoid eating blubbered seal without hurting Sokka’s feelings. 

The rest of the day passed uneventfully for Zuko. His headache had lessened considerably after his tea and he killed time before his shift by watching television. The bus ride to the shop was easy — he’d basically committed the route to memory at this point. 

He entered through the back door of the store, stopping to pull on his apron. Tying it around his waist, he stepped out to the register to relieve whoever was currently on shift. 

“Zuko!” Jet cried, toothpick sticking from his mouth. “Could you have come any later? I’ve been waiting for hours, man.”

Zuko glanced at the clock. He was fifteen minutes early to his shift. Turning back to Jet, he smiled apologetically. “Sorry, Jet.” He said, not wanting to cause a scene.

“All good,” Jet replied easily, moving to remove his own identical apron. He threw it over the counter and leaned against its edge. “Saw you on Haru’s instagram last night.” 

“Oh?” Zuko responded, moving to check the register. Jet had a habit of swiping change. Uncle always chalked it up to Jet charging the customers incorrectly. 

Jet scooted closer to Zuko and leered. “Haru finally made a move, then?”

“What?” Zuko answered, brow furrowed and not understanding the question.

“What?” Jet replied, wide-eyed. 

The two stared at each other for a moment before Jet stepped away with haste. 

“Uh, forget I said anything!” Jet cried, fleeing from the store. “Gotta go. See ya!” 

_ I’ll never understand that guy. _ Thought Zuko.

He never really knew what Jet was talking about. Half the time he spouted complete nonsense and the other half he was avoiding coming into work. He wrote off the moment that just passed as another odd Jet thing that he didn’t understand. 

The shop had only a few customers, all already served with tea. Zuko let out a breath and relaxed. He was in for a relatively easy night, most of their customer base were students and many had already left campus for the break. 

Uncle’s traditional music washed over the store. The instrumental tones were repetitive, but distinctly Fire Nation and it reminded Zuko of his favorite parts of his home. He reminisced for a moment, reminded of how his Mother would take his sister and him to see the traditional dance of the Sun Warriors. Back then, it was one of the few things that both he and Azula could enjoy together. 

After his mother’s disappearance, Zuko clung to dance as a way to feel close to her. Azula, on the other hand, scorned it, refusing to take part in anything that reminded her of their Mother. She took up martial arts instead, becoming even more terrifying of an adolescent than before. Zuko shook his head, clearing the memory.

With such few customers in the store, Zuko figured he could clean up a little. He wiped the counters and swept the floor, only stopping a few times over the course of his shift to help a customer. As he neared the end of his shift, the store was practically sparkling with cleanliness. 

Humming to himself, he decided to tackle the boba machine. It had been a fight with his Uncle, a tea traditionalist, to install it at the store. Eventually, Zuko convinced him to make the purchase, insisting it would bring in more university students. 

Their boba was a hit, quickly becoming the shop’s most sold item. The machine, however, clearly had not been cleaned as often as it should have. Zuko struggled against what looked like a jam in the machine’s cup sealer. 

“Excuse me,” an achingly familiar voice called. “We’ve been  _ waiting _ for you to take our order for at least three minutes.”

“I’ll be right with you,” Zuko responded with false cheer, extricating himself from the machine.

“I told you the service here would be terrible,” the voice sneered.

“Sorry about that,” Zuko called, smile faltering as he spotted his sister, Azula, standing on the other side of the counter with her friends. Ty Lee and Mai had not changed since he’d last seen them, hanging around Azula in their childhood home. Bubbly as ever, Ty Lee beamed at him from beside Azula. Mai cast him a dispassionate glance. 

“Azula, what are you doing here?” He hissed. “What if Father-“

“What Father doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” Azula cut him off, waving away his concern. “Obviously, I’m not going to tell him.”

When he was kicked out, his Father had banned him from communicating with his sister. He claimed that Zuko’s behavior would be a corrupting influence on Azula. Looking back, Zuko found it laughable that his Father believed that he could influence Azula, in any way. 

“Oh, come on,” Azula said, rolling her eyes at Zuko’s expression. “Is this the way you receive your sister? We haven’t chatted in so long, Zuzu.”

“Do you even want tea?” Zuko hissed. 

“Oh yes!” cried Ty Lee, bouncing in her step. “I’ve been dying to try the boba here. I’ve seen it all over instagram! I showed you once, remember. Mai?” She tugged on Mai’s sleeve. 

“Not really, no.” responded Mai, giving no emotion. 

“Unfortunately,” Zuko began, gesturing at the machine that he had just struggled with. “Our boba machine is out of order.”

“How terrible!” Ty Lee pouted, shoulders falling with disappointment.

“We didn’t come here  _ just _ for tea,” Azula stated, flipping her hair. “I need to talk to you.”

“Azula, I’m at work,” Zuko responded helplessly. He didn’t think he could handle a conversation with his sister even in a normal setting, let alone at work, where he’d have to paste on a smile when a customer walked through the door. 

“Of course, not here.” Azula replied evenly. “The girls and I are staying the weekend. We’re just stopping in now to say hi.” 

She pulled a pen out of her pocket and took a napkin from the dispenser. She scribbled briefly before passing the napkin to Zuko.

“This is the address to where we are staying,” Azula said. “I’ll see you there tomorrow morning for breakfast, 8am sharp.”

Zuko spluttered, hand clutching the napkin. “Azula, I—“

“Night, Zuzu,” She called, turning to leave without so much as a single glance to Zuko. 

“But Azula, we didn’t get anything!” Ty Lee cried, trailing behind Azula.

“You heard what Zuko said, they don’t have any boba,” Mai retorted, as the trio made their way out the door. 

Zuko stared off into the space his sister had just left helplessly. What could she possibly have to talk to him about? She’d aligned herself closely with Father back when he was outed. She’d sneered at him from behind their Father’s back as he was thrown from the house. Could she possibly  _ miss him?  _ No, that couldn’t be it. How did she even know that he’d be here? 

Zuko shook his head. He shoved the napkin into his back pocket, deciding to deal with it later. He only had a few more minutes to go before he could close the store and head home, anyways. 

He turned back to the boba machine, determined to get it working again. He tugged on the jam with a bit too much force, causing the arm to completely dislodge and fall to the floor with a loud clang. 

“Argh!” Zuko yelled with frustration, causing the remaining few customers to flinch and stare. In the silence that followed, Zuko felt red-hot embarrassment replacing his anger.

“Sorry about that,” Zuko muttered, picking up the broken machine part from the floor. 

He could still feel the concerned gazes, the weight of the stares quickly becoming unbearable. “Go back to whatever you were doing!” He shouted with force, waving the broken piece above his head.

It had the opposite effect than intended, the tables quickly clearing as people practically ran out of the store. Zuko let out a deep sigh and slumped against the counter in defeat.

At least with the store now empty, he could close a few minutes early.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i had to google how boba machines worked for this. honestly they are kinda scary - they shake up the cups so violently lmao


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sokka’s love language is acts of service

BANG! Zuko slammed the door as he entered the dorm, angry music blaring from his headphones. He kicked off his shoes and yanked the earbuds out from his ears.

“Uh,” called a worried Sokka from the couch. “Rough day?”

Zuko let out a bitter laugh. He moved to join Sokka in the living room, sitting in the armchair beside the couch. “You could say that.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Zuko did not know how to begin. If he mentioned his sister’s visit, he’d have to explain the whole fucked-up childhood backstory to Sokka. Something he needed to be in a good headspace for before getting into. Or at least three drinks deep. 

But Sokka was looking at him with those deep blue eyes of his, crinked with sincerity and concern. Zuko felt compelled to let him in, just a little. 

“I, uh,” Zuko put his face into his hands and huffed. “I broke the boba machine at work.”

“Oh, dude,” Sokka responded, scooting closer to Zuko and putting a hand on his knee consolingly. “That sucks.”

“It really sucks,” Zuko replied with misery. Eyes watering, the severity of his emotion practically revealing his earlier lie of omission. 

“Woah, hey,” Sokka started, kneeling so that he was in front of Zuko. “It’s not the end of the world. Just a broken machine. I can even help you fix it!”

“Wait, really?”

“Yeah, of course! I’m an engineering student. One broken boba machine should be a piece of cake.”

Zuko removed his face from his hands, looking into Sokka’s eyes. The two looked at each other for a moment before Sokka seemed to realize how close he had gotten, stepping away quickly.

“I can get started right now,” Sokka offered. “I’ll drive us back to the shop.”

Zuko shook his head, pushing Sokka back into the couch. “No way. You spent today driving all over the city.”

“Besides,” Zuko continued, leaning back into his seat. “I definitely don’t want to go back right now. We’re closed tomorrow anyways — we can try then.”

“If you’re sure,” Sokka answered gently. 

“Very sure.” Zuko responded, a beat too early. 

“Okay then,” Sokka said, nodding his head. “First thing tomorrow, we’ll stop by.”

Zuko began to sweat, remembering the crumpled napkin burning a hole in his pocket. Sokka seemed to catch on to his nerves, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Unless, you already have plans?” Sokka prompted. “Hot date first thing in the morning?”

“No, no,” Zuko answered quickly, waving his hands. “Nothing like that. Just meeting my sister for breakfast.”

“You have a sister?” Sokka noted with surprise. “Does she live in Ba Sing Se?”

“No, she’s at home with my Father in Caldera.”

Sokka hummed, evidently putting together that there was something Zuko wasn’t quite saying. Zuko blanched, feeling as if he’d said too much and suddenly become transparent, soul becoming visible for Sokka to see. 

“Well,” Sokka began. “I can pick you up after you’re done, if you want.”

Relief washed over Zuko. Not only did he successfully avoid the conversation-mine that was his family, Sokka’s offer gave him an out if tomorrow’s conversation with Azula got ugly. 

“Yes, thank you.” Zuko responded. “I’d appreciate that.”

Sokka gave him a reassuring smile. “Of course. Not like I have plans, anyways.”

Sokka really did have a nice smile. It transformed his face, cheeks dimpling and eyes squinting ever so slightly. Zuko could honestly look at it for days without getting bored. A phone began to ring suddenly, jarring him from the moment. 

“Oh!” Sokka exclaimed, grabbing the phone from the coffee table. “Totally forgot I ordered noodles.”

“Hello?” Sokka said, picking up the call. He listened for a few moments, nodding his head as if the person on the line could see him. “Be right there!”

He threw the phone onto the couch and ran to the front door with haste, shoving on his shoes. Zuko watched with amusement as he flung open the door and ran down the hall. 

Less than a minute or so had passed before Sokka reappeared, chest heaving and take-out bag in hand. He stepped out of his shoes and closed the door, moving to rejoin Zuko in the living room. He plopped the bag on the coffee table and ripped into it. 

“I got you those noodles that you like,” Sokka said, handing a container to Zuko before grabbing his own. 

“Extra spicy fire noodles?" 

“Yep!”

Zuko felt himself fall the tiniest bit in love with Sokka just then. It was unfair, honestly, that Sokka had to be so kind on top of looking the way that he did. Zuko really didn’t stand a chance. He opened the container and inhaled deeply. He could smell the heat of the spices and knew that the dish would hit the spot. 

“Don’t know how you can eat that stuff,” Sokka commented. “My eyes are watering from all the way over here.”

Zuko shrugged. “Grew up eating it.”

Sokka shook his head. He turned on the television, putting on some sort of baking competition show that Zuko had never seen before. He was content to sit with his noodles and enjoy the show, enhanced by Sokka’s commentary. 

“That cheesecake is going to crack,” Sokka said, pointing at the screen with a chopstick. “He didn’t give it a water bath! What is this, amateur hour?”

They’d gotten through two episodes by now, and Zuko felt he had a pretty good grasp of what was going on. He was also pretty sure that the whole point was that all the competitors were amateurs. He kept this comment to himself, not wanting to contradict Sokka. 

The poor baker’s cheesecake did have a pretty nasty crack when he pulled it from the oven, just a few minutes later. 

“Aha!” Sokka cried, turning to Zuko. “I told you it would crack.”

“You were right,” Zuko agreed. 

“Oooh,” Sokka crooned, throwing a hand over his chest and eyes fluttering shut dramatically. “Say that again.”

“That you were right?” Zuko replied, incredulous.

“You’re too good to me,” Sokka said, still dramatically clutching his chest. The episode finished just then, television prompting the pair if they were still watching. Sokka’s eyes widened as he caught the time on the screen. 

“That late already?” He said, stretching as he stood from the couch. He gathered the empty containers from the takeout and placed them into the bag. “Best not start something we can’t finish.” He said, winking at Zuko. 

Zuko blushed, startled. He didn’t feel tired in the least, but didn’t want to keep Sokka awake. “Going to bed?”

“Yeah,” Sokka replied, moving to bring the bag to the trash can. He turned back to Zuko from his position by the trash. “Do you think I could borrow one of your melatonin pills again? Don’t want to bother you with another night of sleepwalking.”

Zuko nodded and stood from the armchair. He wouldn’t say that he was  _ bothered _ by the naked sleepwalking. More like hot and bothered. He quickly went to his room to grab the bottle and moved to join Sokka in the kitchen. He propped the bottle on the counter and grabbed two glasses to fill with water. 

“These might be a bit stronger than the one I gave you earlier in the semester,” Zuko cautioned. “Uncle cashed out a favor on them — they’re prescription strength.”

“Sounds like just what I need,” Sokka said, taking a glass from Zuko and popping open the pill bottle. He shook out two pills, slipping one over into Zuko’s hand. 

He clicked his glass against Zuko’s before swallowing the pill. Zuko followed shortly after, making sure to finish his glass of water. Sokka put down his glass, peering at the label on the bottle. 

“What makes this stronger than the over-the-counter stuff?” He questioned.

Zuko shrugged. “No idea. I do feel it a bit more than usual, but that’s about it.”

Sokka nodded, seemingly satisfied with Zuko’s answer. He moved to place his used cup in the dishwasher, brushing against Zuko’s body as he passed. He clapped him on the shoulder, bidding him goodnight before disappearing into his room.

Zuko sighed, figuring he had about a half-hour or so before the pill really kicked in. He moved to his own room, changing into his sleep clothes. He settled into bed, grabbing his eye mask and ear plugs. He secured the ear plugs in his ears and fastened the mask over his eyes, blocking out any sights or sounds. He was determined to fall asleep on schedule tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you can probably guess what’s about to happen lmaoooo


	8. 8

Zuko was having the most  _ incredible  _ dream. He was covered in warmth, a solid weight spooning him from behind. Hands were pressed on his body, one along his chest and the other hovering his stomach just below his navel. 

The hands were  _ big  _ too. Fingers spanning the entire width of his belly. If only they would just dip  _ a bit lower _ to where he needed touch the most. It was kind of sad that even in his dreams, Zuko was left sexually frustrated. 

Still, he marvelled at how  _ real _ it all felt. He could practically feel small exhales of his mystery dream lover on the back of his neck. It had taken him quite a bit to fall asleep, his body had built up a tolerance to melatonin from how often he used it. Still, it must’ve had some effect for him to have a dream this intense. 

Usually, when Zuko dreamt, his dreams were abstract — filled with faceless figures and often leaving him with an overwhelming sense of anxiety. He’d never dreamt something as concrete as the one he was currently having. If he breathed deeply, he could practically  _ smell _ his mystery lover. Comforting traces of shampoo and something uniquely masculine filling his nose. 

It was strange. This scent was familiar to him somehow. Inhaling again, he recognized the shampoo as one currently lining the floor of the bathroom’s shower. One that Sokka used.

Just then, Zuko’s phone began to vibrate from the alarm he had set the night prior. Without removing his eye mask, Zuko twisted and quickly found his phone and hit snooze, wanting to enjoy just a few minutes more of his dream.

Weirdly, the dream hands around his body tightened — as if distrubed by his movements. Zuko briefly enjoyed the feeling of being held before realizing that the hands should have disappeared when he was awoken by the alarm. 

He twisted again, this time removing his ear plugs and pushing off his eye mask. He was blinded, just for a moment, by the light streaming in through the window. 

“Just five more minutes,” murmured a sleepy Sokka, snuggling his face deeper into the Zuko’s nape. 

Zuko flipped around to face Sokka, nearly bashing the other’s nose with his face. Eyes wide, Zuko watched Sokka slowly wake, the current situation dawning on him.

“Uh, good morning?” Sokka began, voice deep with sleep and still holding on to Zuko. 

Zuko stared blankly at Sokka, unsure of how to process what was happening. His body felt split in two, head spinning with anxiety and heart (and  _ other things _ ) thrumming with anticipation. 

Zuko’s lack of reaction seemed to give Sokka some unease, because he quickly sat up, limbs untangling from Zuko. 

“I am  _ so _ sorry,” Sokka began, words tumbling out of his mouth at breakneck speed. “Must’ve sleepwalked and gotten confused. I don’t even remember coming in here, I swear. I—“

“It’s fine,” Zuko cut him off, looking up at Sokka who looked to be holding his breath with tension.

“Seriously. I don’t—” Zuko said, voice trailing off as the bedcover fell off Sokka’s shoulder, exposing his chest. Zuko was painfully reminded that Sokka slept naked as his eyes involuntarily strayed, following the trail of exposed skin. 

“Oh?” Sokka’s eyes tracked Zuko’s, mouth curling into a smirk. “You don’t what?”

“I don’t mind,” Zuko finished breathlessly, dragging his eyes back to Sokka’s amused face. His mouth ran dry and he licked his lips. 

The glint in Sokka’s eyes turned predatory. Zuko felt pinned by the weight of his gaze, unable to move away. Sokka moved in ever so slowly towards Zuko, eyes watching him all the while as if he was trying to give Zuko an out.

Zuko’s phone began to buzz violently, shocking the two. Zuko turned to grab it, eyes widening at the time.

“Shit,” he hissed. “I’m late.”

“Right! Your sister’s thing.”

Zuko scrambled from the bed, chucking on his nearest clean pair of jeans. He found a passably nice shirt and threw it on. He looked back at Sokka, who looked absolutely unfair, wearing nothing but Zuko’s sheets. He had never resented his sister more for dragging him from this moment, not even when he was getting kicked out.

Sokka’s eyes were soft, seemingly content to watch Zuko hurry about getting ready. Zuko paused as he hopped into a pair of socks, racking his brain for something to say.

“Do you still want to fix the boba machine? After?” He asked, oddly nervous.

“Yeah,” Sokka said easily. “Just text me when you’re done and we’ll head over”

“Thanks,” Zuko responded. He quickly scanned his room, making sure he had everything he needed before leaving. 

“I’m going to go,” Zuko motioned towards the door. “Feel free to, uh, stay?”

“If you don’t want me to leave your bed, Zuko,” Sokka drawled, half-jokingly. “You can just say that.”

Zuko turned red, feeling vaguely put on the spot by Sokka’s joke. He let out a self-deprecating laugh and stammered out a good-bye. He practically fled the dorm, unsure of how to handle Sokka now that he had apparently taken to  _ flirting (?!) _ with him. Zuko could barely handle Sokka as it were. 

He slowed as he made his way to the bus stop, catching his breath. The streets were always quiet at this hour but with all the students gone for break, they were absolutely deserted. As the bus approached, he noticed that it too did not have a single soul on it. There’d be nothing to distract him from his thoughts. 

As he settled into the bus, he involuntarily remembered how Sokka had looked in the early morning glow, hair disheveled and voice groggy. He thought about how he had looked at Zuko back then, too. His eyes dark and mouth twisted into a seductive smirk. He couldn’t help but think that if it wasn’t for his tratorious phone, that they would have kissed right there, in his rumpled bed sheets. Could this mean Sokka wanted him, too?

Zuko thumped his head against the bus window. Maybe it was just wishful thinking on his part. Azula had always made fun of him for overthinking, saying he had a flare for dramatics.

_ Fuck. _ Zuko thought. He was meeting her in only just a few minutes. To talk, of all things. 

Azula had rarely, if ever, given Zuko good news when she told him they needed to talk. The very first time, she broke the news that their Mother was gone. She apparently had overheard their Father’s conversation the night of her disappearance and immediately came to Zuko, pointing out that she’d now be the favorite child now that Mother was gone. 

The second time, it was right before Zuko’s Father seared the left-side of his face. She pulled him aside once he’d gotten home, explained that Father somehow had gotten a hold of a snapchat video of Zuko kissing another man— sent to him from one of his colleagues. She offhandedly commented that it would be probably for the best if Zuko ran away, that Father would never want to see him again. Zuko hadn’t believed her, running into his Father’s study to explain. Looking back, he probably should have done as she said, as he scratched idly at his scar. 

The bus slowed to a stop and Zuko got up, making his way out onto the street. Azula was staying in a nice area, in a trendy part of the upper ring. He walked down the street of the address she had given him, looking up at the massive hotel that he supposed she was staying in. He steeled himself and entered the lobby.

“What part of 8 am  _ sharp  _ did you not understand?” Azula clipped, looking intimidating as ever standing in the lobby. “Follow me, the food is this way.”

She turned, without looking back to check if Zuko was following, and walked into the adjourning restaurant. Zuko trailed after her, briefly noticing the prices on the menu were way outside his price range. 

She led him to a table by the window. Once seated, she snapped her fingers. A waiter scrambled over. 

“We’ll take two coffees to start. Black.” Azula demanded, giving the waiter no time to speak. “We’ll call you when we have something more to order.” 

“Right away, miss.” 

Azula leveled her stare to Zuko, who tried his best not to shrink under her gaze. They were no longer children and Zuko was older, for Agni’s sake. He shouldn’t be scared of her, not anymore.

“You had something to tell me?” Zuko prompted, keeping his voice steady. 

“You know,” Azula began. “It really isn’t polite to begin a conversation with a question. Slumming it here with Uncle really has made you uncivilized, Zuzu.”

“Don’t call me that!”

“Well, I suppose my appearance yesterday must have given you quite the shock,” Azula continued, ignoring Zuko’s outburst. “I’ll forgive your bad manners just this once.”

The waiter appeared, placing a cup of coffee in front of each of them. Zuko quietly thanked him. He bowed and made a haste exit. 

“Right,” Azula began, taking a small sip of her coffee. “No use sugar coating it. Dad is sick. Terminally so.”

“Sick?”

“Perceptive as ever, Zuzu.”

She sighed putting her cup down, looking off through the window. “It’s brain cancer. He doesn’t have more than a month left.”

Zuko grit his teeth, overcome with a complicated emotion. It seemed ridiculous that a man so powerful as his Father could be taken down by something so simple as an illness. 

“Why are you telling me this?” He bit out. “I’m no longer family. He’s made that very clear.”

Azula’s calm demeanor shifted to one of surprise. “I thought you’d be pleased to hear of his demise.”

“Pleased?” Zuko nearly shouted, hands shaking with tension. “Why would I be pleased?”

“For one, he did  _ that _ ,” Azula pointed with a manicured fingernail to the left-side of his face. “And kicked you out of the house.”

“You didn’t seem to care back then.” Zuko huffed, arms crossing over his chest. 

“Secondly,” Azula continued, waving over Zuko’s comment. “This means you can come home now.”

“Come home?” Zuko asked, incredulous.

“Well, obviously not now,” Azula responded slowly, as if speaking to a child. “After the funeral of course.”

Zuko put his face into his hands and laughed semi-hysterically, overwhelmed with the ridiculousness of the situation. He pushed away the coffee and looked back to Azula, who was taken aback by his reaction.

“Azula,” He began, looking into her eyes. “You can’t possibly be serious.”

Azula’s brows furrowed. “Of course I’m serious.”

“This makes no sense. I can’t just go back—“

“Of course you can!” Azula avowed, displaying a rare show of emotion. “Father was the only reason you couldn’t and now he’s soon to be gone. Problem solved.” 

She looked at Zuko, trying to convey something to him with her expression. Zuko shook his head and looked away, not comprehending. She sighed and polished off her coffee.

“For what it’s worth,” She began. “I’m sorry about what he did to you. I tried to stop you from seeing him, that day you know.”

“Did it ever occur to you,” Zuko intoned, voice stilted with restrained emotion. “That I might not want to step foot in that house ever again?”

Azula looked truly taken aback. She quickly straightened herself out, letting out a quick breath. “In all honesty, it did not. It is our ancestral home, Zuko. Why wouldn’t you want to return?”

“I have a home here,” Zuko answered. “With Uncle.”

“You can’t mean the shack above the tea shop?” Azula asked, tone incredulous. “You’d rather stay  _ there?” _

“I’m not staying there, not anymore. But I would.”

“Where are you staying, then?” 

“I’m back at school. At Ba Sing Se State.” 

“Wow,” Azula said, leaning back into her chair. “You’d rather live in the squalid dorms of a public university then move back in with your little sister.” She spat the words public university as if they were dirty. 

Understanding suddenly dawned on Zuko. This was his psychopathic sister’s weird way of letting him know that she actually had  _ missed him _ . She wanted him to live with her again. 

“Azula, that’s not it.” He consoled, reaching across the table to grab her hand. She jumped away as if he was trying to burn her.

“What are you doing?” She yelled. 

"Shit. Sorry, I just —“ Zuko began. “I was aiming for comforting.”

Zuko had spent too much time around his roommates and must’ve picked up on their more tactile ways of showing affection. He had forgotten how odd it had been to him at first, too. 

“Right. Well, don’t do it again.” Azula retorted.

The two stared at each other for an uncomfortable moment, Azula’s face twisted with disgust at Zuko’s attempt of physical affection.

“I just hate that house and I have a life here, now.” Zuko continued. “It’s not that I don’t want to be with you.”

“A life that currently doesn’t have room for me, apparently.” Azula said, a pout not quite forming on her face. 

“That’s not true, either.” Zuko said. “I’d like you to be in my life again, Azula.”

Zuko meant it, too. He had loved and resented his sister in equal parts for most of his life. He found now, that the love outweighed whatever lingering resentments he may have.

Azula stared at him for a moment as if assessing his sincerity. Apparently satisfied, she nodded once before waving over the waiter.

“You’d be insane not to, anyways.” Azula huffed, flipping her hair behind her shoulder. 

The waiter quickly hurried to the table. Azula cast him a glance from the corner from her eye before handing him their menus. Zuko hadn’t even had a chance to browse. 

“We’ll both have the brunch special. Don’t forget the mimosas.” Azula ordered brusquely.

“Right away.”

The waiter quickly sped away, seemingly relieved to be away from Azula’s presence. She tended to have that effect on most people, seemingly without any effort. It was both frightening and impressive. 

Zuko fidgeted with his phone in his hands, unsure of how to carry on the conversation. His sister and him weren’t ones for small talk. Azula’s eyes caught on to his movements. 

“So you do have one of those.” She pointed to his phone.

“Oh,” Zuko paused. “Yes, I bought a new one a few weeks after —“

“Hand it here,” Azula interrupted, sticking out her hand. 

“Why?” Zuko asked, but he was already putting the phone into her hand. 

She quickly opened it, guessing his password with ease. She was tapping away at something, making Zuko uneasy. She handed his phone back after a minute.

“You have my number now,” She said, gesturing at the screen that contained a new text conversation that simply contained the message ‘Azula Sozin’. 

Zuko huffed out a laugh that she added the last name, as if he would forget who she was. 

“I trust you’ll make good use of it.” She continued, as their food was quietly delivered. 

A mountain of breakfast plates soon covered their table. Zuko’s eyes widened, this surely would be an expensive meal. Azula seemed to notice his hesitancy to eat, looking up briefly from her stack of pancakes. 

“Father’s paying, of course.” She declared, knife in hand as she cut up her breakfast. “Think of it as emotional compensation.”

Zuko let out a surprised laugh, tension leaving his shoulders. He gave Azula a genuine smile at that, contentment showing in his eyes. He grabbed a stack of pancakes for himself, allowing himself to dig in. The two siblings simply enjoying each other’s company.

“By the way,” Azula began, mouth full of fruit. “I read all your text messages. Who’s this Sokka character and why is he asking when to come save you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk i’m just really into the trope where Sokka is super fuckin obvious and Zuko is oblivious and just doesn’t get it
> 
> also azula is evil, but not like tru evil ya feel? idk gotta give my girl a redemption


	9. 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sexual tension 🤝 resolved (mostly)

“Is that thing even allowed to be on the road?” Azula asked, eyeing Sokka’s beat-up car as skidded to a stop outside the hotel lobby. It was an older model, one he had fixed up himself with the help of some expat Water Tribe mechanics at a nearby auto-shop. While Sokka swore that the engine ran like new, the dented-in and dusty appearance of the car had it looking worse for wear.

Zuko shrugged in response. He’d become used to worse modes of transport, especially after riding the bus everyday. Sokka honked twice, horn letting out a high-pitched bleat.

“It somehow managed to be even worse than I initially thought.” Azula said, appearing unsurprised save for the delicate arch of her eyebrow.

Zuko turned to offer her a smile. He’d actually enjoyed their breakfast together, once they had gotten past the whole “Father’s dying” bit. Honestly, it was one of the less traumatic experiences he had shared with Azula. He’d at least gotten free pancakes out of this one. 

She stuck out her hand in a clear “stop” motion. “Do not attempt to touch me again.”

“I wasn’t going to—“

“You may have forgotten — given with whom you’ve been spending time with,” Azula gestured to Sokka, who had stuck half his body out the front window in an effort to wave at them two. "But we have a concept called 'personal boundaries’ in the Fire Nation.” 

“I haven’t forgotten.” Zuko huffed with exasperated fondness. He tilted his head, gesturing to Sokka. “Bye, Azula. I’ll text you.”

“See to it that you will.” Azula jutted her chin out in a clear dismissal, but Zuko could see the fondness in her eyes. 

He headed towards Sokka’s car, offering Sokka a wave. Sokka smiled back, blue eyes crinkling as he shuffled his upper body back inside the car. He reached over to the passenger side and to open the door for Zuko, pushing on the latch with force as the door creaked open.

“It gets stuck sometimes,” Sokka said, offering an embarrassed smile as he gestured for Zuko to sit.

Zuko sat gingerly, closing the door and buckling his seatbelt. Sokka glanced at him from the corner of his eye as he shifted the gear and pulled the car out of the hotel’s driveway. 

“Someone’s in a good mood,” Sokka commented. 

Zuko gave a small chuckle. “It was nice to see my sister. We haven’t spoken in a while.”

“Ah - she’s out in Caldera, right?” Sokka asked, remembering their conversation from earlier. 

“Yeah,” Zuko responded easily. “It’s where we grew up. She’s at the university there, now.”

Sokka hummed, turning the wheel as they left the upper ring. “She looks like you. But like, more scary.”

“More scary?”

“I was intimidated from thirty feet away in my car.”

Zuko smiled, shaking his head. “She’s been known to have that effect.”

He turned his head out the window, watching as they crossed through the tunnel under the wall separating the upper and middle rings. They were surrounded by darkness, the only brightness coming from small lights that lined the road. 

The darkness was soothing, it reminded him of when he first came to Ba Sing Se and took the bus in from the airport. He’d had to travel through a few of these tunnels before he landed at his Uncle’s shop, holding everything he now owned in a suitcase. 

Zuko realized that he could probably go grab the rest of his things that he’d left behind in just a few weeks. It still had not sunk in that his Father was ill. That it was only a matter of weeks before the person who despised him most would be absent from this world. He was both relieved and full of guilt for feeling that way. 

The car exited the tunnel. Zuko squinted as his eyes adjusted to the sudden light. Now that they were in the middle ring, they were only moments away from the shop. 

“Turn here,” Zuko directed, pointing to a side street. “It leads to the employee parking lot.”

Sokka nodded, pulling into the narrow side street. They drove slowly into the empty parking lot. Sokka reversed easily into the closest space, arm stretching behind Zuko’s seat as he looked behind. Zuko couldn’t help but turn his face, blushing at their proximity. 

_ You were even closer this morning.  _ His mind supplied unhelpfully as he tried to calm the red of his cheeks. 

Sokka put the car in park and Zuko moved to open his door. 

“No! No —“ Sokka reached over, pushing Zuko back into his chair and grabbing the latch. “You have to open it like this.” He did something complicated to the door handle, before pushing it with sudden force. It swung open with a loud creak. “See?”

“Oh,” Zuko responded, inanely. He could still feel the heat on his chest from where Sokka’s palm had rested.

Sokka opened his own, much less creaky door, and stepped out. Zuko hastily followed, pointing to the back-entrance. They made their way over, Zuko unlocking the door and pushing through. 

“So this is where all the magic happens?” Sokka asked, gesturing to the many crates of tea lining the back-room. 

Zuko smiled, thinking back to the many conversations he had with his Uncle in this room. “You could say that.”

Sokka stuck a finger at Zuko’s face. “Was that a  _ smirk _ ? What have you done back here?”

“What?” Zuko spluttered, face reddening as he caught the innuendo. “No! That’s not what I meant. Uncle and I would just talk back here, that’s all.”

Sokka smiled, pushing at Zuko’s chest before stepping around him into the main floor. “You’re so easy to rile up. Now, where’s this broken boba machine?”

Zuko huffed, offended but followed Sokka anyway. “It’s over here.” 

He pointed to the aforementioned machine. The broken piece was thrown haphazardly on top from when Zuko had attempted to panic-fix it the night prior. 

Sokka rubbed his hands together and clapped. “Let’s do this.”

He examined the machine from top to bottom, brow furrowing in concentration. He asked a few questions about how Zuko normally would use it and how it would behave, which Zuko answered easily. 

“There was a jam in the cup sealer,” Zuko said, as he hopped onto the counter to find a more comfortable position. “I tried to get it out and broke the whole thing.” 

Sokka hummed and grabbed his chin, thinking. He grabbed the broken piece, fingers grazing over it. 

“Aha!” He cried, thrusting it into Zuko’s face. “This screw is loose. It probably caused it to fall off from when you were yanking on it.”

“I wasn’t yanking!”

“I can just screw it back in and then test it out.” Sokka continued ignoring his outburst. He placed the part down on the counter before lifting his shirt and grabbing what looked like a long piece of wrapped fabric from his pants.

“Uh, what is that?” 

“My tools!” Sokka cried with enthusiasm as he unfolded the fabric to reveal a set of screwdrivers and wrenches. “Katara gave me a travel set for my birthday. Isn’t it sick?”

“You keep them in your pants?” Zuko asked, disbelieving.

Sokka grabbed the screwdriver and placed the part back into the machine. “Why not?” He responded, hands twisting as he secured the screw. “Don’t you reach into your pants every time you want to screw?”

Zuko’s body shook with laughter. “You’re ridiculous.”

Sokka turned it on and slapped the side of the machine. The plastic lid that was jamming the cup sealer dislodged and fell. “It works!”

Zuko hopped off the counter, stepping closer to the machine. “You did it.” He responded, voice laced with awe.

“You sound surprised.” Sokka pouted. “I’m very good at fixing things.”

“I’ll never doubt you again.” Zuko said ardently. 

“You know,” Sokka began, turning to face Zuko. “Most mechanics would require compensation.”

Zuko smiled. Sokka probably was aiming to get some free boba tea. “Oh would they?” He responded, playing into Sokka’s game.

Sokka leaned over Zuko, caging him against the counter. “They would.”

Zuko swallowed, looking up into Sokka’s eyes. He didn’t realize Sokka was this much taller than him, his arms bracketing him in. “What about this mechanic?”

“He’d be okay with whatever you’d be willing to give him.”

Sokka leaned in, nose brushing against Zuko’s. 

“What if it was tea?” Zuko asked as their lips hovered only breaths apart. 

Sokka looked up from his lips to make eye contact with Zuko. “If that’s what you wanted to give, then yes.”

“What if I want something else?”

Sokka gave a smirk. “Then you’d only need to say.”

Unable to form the words, Zuko pulled Sokka in by the back of his neck and kissed him. It was sweet, nothing more than just the touching of lips. Zuko pulled back a half inch, looking up to Sokka. 

“Yes,” Sokka breathed, hands reaching around his back and pulling him back in. He kissed like he did everything else, with a single-minded focus. Zuko felt the heat inside him building as Sokka’s hand traveled up his back to grip his nape and the other wrapping around his waist.

He was lifted suddenly, becoming weightless as Sokka placed him on the counter. Zuko moved his knees wide and pulled Sokka in so that they were flush together. 

Sokka broke away, leaving Zuko panting as he began to kiss down his neck. “Do you know how long I’ve been wanting to do this?” Sokka asked, sucking on a particularly sensitive spot on Zuko’s neck. 

“How long?” Zuko breathed as he held onto Sokka’s shoulders.

“Since move-in day.” Sokka answered. “Tui and La, you were so hot.”

Zuko huffed out an incredulous noise, dragging Sokka back up for another kiss. “Me too.” He admitted. “I’ve wanted this, too.”

Sokka’s hands framed his face, thumb brushing over his cheekbone. “We’re both idiots. We could have been doing this the whole time.”

“What do you mean,  _ this _ ?” Zuko bit out, not liking the idea of being just a hook-up to Sokka. 

“I just mean —,” Sokka began, eyes wide. 

“I have feelings for you, Sokka,” Zuko cut off. “I don’t want for this to be just a  _ this _ .”

“It’s not!” Sokka rushed out. “Zuko, I’m so  _ embarrassing  _ over you. I can’t get you out of my head. I literally sleepwalked into your bed last night because I was dreaming of you.”

He pressed his forehead softly against Zuko’s for a moment then hauled him in close, encasing him in a hug. “I like you so much I’m being actively driven crazy.”

“Oh,” Zuko responded unintelligently, chest growing warm with emotion underneath Sokka’s arms. “That’s good then.”

Sokka huffed out a laugh. “I’m glad you approve.”

He untangled himself from Zuko slowly, offering a hand to help him off the counter. Sokka motioned to the large glass windows framing the front of the store. “We should probably stop before we give somebody a free show.”

Zuko responded, straightening out his clothes with a forced air of nonchalance. “You know, the back room doesn’t have any windows.”

A slow grin formed on Sokka’s face. “I don’t actually. Why don’t you show me?”


End file.
